I’ve been copied by big companies three times now.
Most artists, when they see their work stolen, go straight to social media. They scream, they tag the company, and they look for “compassion” from their followers. I understand the anger, but I don’t like to do that.
Last August, a big company in the gold industry released a limited edition Independence Day coin. The design was almost identical to a project I did for PNB118. It featured my character designs and landmarks.
Instead of posting a “call out” on Threads or Instagram, I called an IP lawyer. We sent a private Letter of Demand.
Here is the insight I want to share:
- The “Behance” Strategy When I posted the original project on Behance, I separated the characters and landmarks into individual images just to make the page look longer and better. My lawyer told me this was a “genius” move. Because I separated them, each one was a protected asset. If the company used one character, they stole 100% of that asset. If I had only posted one big poster, they could argue it was only a “partial” copy. Your portfolio layout is your legal shield.
- Avoid the Defamation Trap If you scream online before you talk to a lawyer, you complicate the case. The company can sue you for damaging their reputation (defamation). That cancels out the money they owe you for your art. By staying silent, I kept my leverage.
- It’s a Business Transaction, Not Drama The company first offered RM 8,000 to settle. I knew the lawyer fees alone would eat that. We pushed back, knowing that “statutory damages” (the fine for copying) could be much higher. In the end, we settled for RM 20,000. It’s a fair licensing fee, and the case was closed in two months.
I have a “trophy” from this case, one of the cards they were supposed to destroy. I keep it to remind myself that professional problems are solved in boardrooms, not in comment sections.
I’ve posted about plagiarism before, and I have my fair share of posting about it.
I’ve seen deleted the viral posts about my work being copied in the past because I don’t want to be remembered as “The Artist Who Got Copied.” I want to be remembered for the work I build.
Protect your rights, get your settlement, and get back to work.
— Lai
