No web-bugs, no bs, just a legit recommmendation that I have personally evaluated before allowing it to be listed here:

This doesn't look right...

Considering that Hasbro hasn't really taken advantage of the merchandising opportunities for the non-traditional (brony) audience of their wonderful new show), I was thrilled to discover that there were hundreds of t-shirt and poster options from a site called "Redbubble".

But as I browsed through the options, I noticed some non-Hasbro designs and even recognized some of the work as belonging to some extremely talented artists I know from Deviantart.

Generally speaking, I don't think anyone (fans or producers) has a problem with websites that share limited pictures or content from a show for the purpose of discussing or promoting it (as I do here). Submitting the same to a place to have t-shirts made for personal profit is definitely pushing it, but as long as Hasbro won't provide me awesome t-shirts to buy, I'm not above getting the from someone who will. And if Hasbro doesn't like it, they're within their powers to have the designs taken down and I can respect that.

But there's a very big difference between that and profiting off the completely original and excellent works of actual artists without their consent or permission. Browsing Redbubble's selection was like watching a good friend get punched in the gut.

Don't be a thief Redbubble

So who's the problem

In the end, it's the users who uploaded it that are the problem. I get that the website can't necessarily police everything, but their response should be better than it was. After I confirmed with the Artists that they didn't authorize this, I contacted Redbubble and got a fairly lackluster response about DMCA and garbage from their CEO:

Anybody can report a copyright violation as an "other" violation under the image. In addition RedBubbble operates best practice DMCA compliance and a copyright holder may send a 'take down' notice in accord with the DMCA and that will be expeditiously dealt with by our DMCA team. Details about this are all available on site through the help menu. Very best and thank you for your attention to this important issue. Martin Martin Hosking

CEO

Martin HoskingCEO

In other words: "We're following the letter of the law and if artists somehow notice they're being screwed and take the time and effort to police our site for us, we'll do something about it as we're required to do". So much for Redbubble being a "respectful, supportive and encouraging community of people who are passionate about art and creativity" (source).

Let's be realistic Mr. Hosking; you're putting the burden on the artist who lack the time, energy, or capability to protect themselves and that's not ok. I realize that your site is just like every other site that profits from work uploaded by others and this isn't a new problem (Youtube, Funnyjunk, Memebase, etc, etc, etc), but wouldn't you like to take this opportunity to spearhead protecting your users and be the first of your kind to do so?

Calling out Redbubble

Mr. Hosking, if you truly care about artists and about the site you've created for them, you should be as angry as I am about this issue (probably more). I suggest the following:

When an artist does take the trouble to contact Redbubble about this, it shouldn't require more than one or two communications where they show their authorship. From there, Redbubble should do the following:

Calculate the profit paid to the uploader of any artist's work from the time of first upload. Apply an "infringement debt" to the Redbubble Account Holder's (RAH's) The offending RAH will not be able to futher profit from their submissions until and unless the infringement debts have been settled. The offending material should be immediately deleted so that the infringement debt cannot be settled by further infringement. The RAH can have the option to pay the balance manually to more quickly reactivate their profit-earning potential. Once the debt has been settled or if a certain time has passed (the RAH never generates enough money), any available money is paid to the actual artist.

I realize this isn't as simple as just taking down stuff and banning accounts, but it is a better solution by far. For one, it eliminates any motivation the RAH would have for infringing since the moment it's discovered, they lose all past and future profits from it. It protects innocent infringers who didn't know better by not bringing down the hammer of Thor, just asking them to make it right. And most of all, it provides reparations to the artist who deserves it.

No current website or law makes the wrong right. You could Mr. Hosking. You could and you'd be the first of your kind. Can you imagine how newsworthy such a policy could be? You sir, could protect artists and put your site in the media spotlight all at the same time. Consider it sir.

Until then, in an effort to help my fellow artists, here is a list of the infringers:

For Artists!

Redbubble's DMCA complain process is Here. Until Redbubble steps up, this is what you have to work with, friends. Hopefully my links will help speed the process.

I will be watching to see what happens and post updates as they occur.