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After Ice Cream Company Stole This Artist’s Work, He Came Up With An Idea They Didn’t Expect
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After Ice Cream Company Stole This Artist’s Work, He Came Up With An Idea They Didn’t Expect

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In a time when original ideas are hard to come by, it’s no wonder that things get copied and stolen, especially on the internet. However, an ice cream company ColdStone crossed the line when they plagiarised art for their Indian branch.

Last week, Adam Ellis, former BuzzFeed employee and artist, shared his story on Twitter, where it quickly gained attention. He pointed out that Coldstone traced and stole some of his work for their Instagram page and urged the company to donate to Inner City Arts, a creative space in Los Angeles, where children can explore their creativity. People quickly expressed their feelings on such plagiarism and unsurprisingly, they weren’t too happy.

The company has responded and just a week later, Adam Ellis posted an update on the entire situation that offered a glimmer of hope for all artists. Read the story below to see how it unfolded and tell us if you think Ellis did the right thing.

More info: Twitter

Remember Adam Ellis who quit Buzzfeed to pursue his artist career?

Well, last week Ellis posted about ColdStone stealing his work and offered an interesting way to solve this

Take a look at one of his comics, which shows Adam’s distinctive drawing style

Now take a look at some of the art that was traced and stolen

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Understandably, people were not too happy about such plagiarism

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And just a couple days ago, Ellis tweeted Coldstone’s response

However, not everyone was happy

Others were happy about the exchange and were quick to support the artist

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mheath23 avatar
sreesenthill avatar
Sree S
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Jonathan there aren't many cartoonists who would handle a similar situation like this. We must appreciate him for that. The way he handled it without taking revenge. Its amazing!!

Load More Replies...
teddyomalley avatar
Teddy O'Malley
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So annoying when big companies do that, but I'm glad it had a happy outcome. I enjoy and will continue to enjoy the work off Adam Ellis.

katelucas4560 avatar
ChelseaFraser
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

I resigned my office-job and now I am getting paid £64 hourly. How? I work over internet! My old work was making me miserable, so I was forced to try something different, two years after...I can say my life is changed-completely for the better! Check it out what i do... http://cutt.us/77SLR

Load More Replies...
gerry1of1 avatar
Gerry Higgins
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's possible ColdStone didn't know about this. A staff artist stole the stuff and submitted as his own..... I bet he's unemployed now.

sallyapple7 avatar
Sally Appleton
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This whole website is basically an homage to Adam Ellis and I am 100% here for it.

funkymattrocks avatar
stellermatt
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

there's like a million different ways to draw a face, they could've at least TRIED to be different. his style is so spottable, it's just lazy copying. good on him for taking a stand.

young-and-depressed avatar
Arietis
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I bet this is what happened: They just didn't want to put any money in the actual art of their campaign. They probably paid a decent amount for the people who conjured up an 'advertising strategy' and then the rest of the budget didn't allow for an experienced artist. So they hired someone who's somewhat into drawing, someone semi-professional, who traced a few pics because of deadline pressure or because their own style isn't developed enough. And now, due to public pressure, the company has to donate money they couldn't find for a professional artist in the first place.

royalfangirl avatar
H4unt3dF0r3sts
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Although it is frustrating that they weren't sued for plagiarism, I am glad that they had donated money. Adam Ellis did the right thing

atruong74 avatar
SweetMamaP
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lawsuits are time-consuming and expensive with no guarantee that you'll win even if the case looks like a slam dunk. Cold Stone has deep pockets and they could drag it out for years, bankrupting any "little guy" with just the legal costs. Ellis is smart enough understand this. And instead of looking for revenge, he gave them a way to save face and avoided being dragged into a lengthy legal battle with the likelihood of that they'll receive, at most, a small fine. His move was elegant and breathtaking in it's simplicity and impact. Win-Win for everyone (especially Inner City Arts). Now, Adam Ellis can move on, without any legal debt, and create more art.

Load More Replies...
david_daisymayboldock avatar
David Daisy May Boldock
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You steal one you can call it plagiarism. You steal more than one then call it research.

johnlouis avatar
John Louis
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a question that's a little off topic. Is Coldstone any better tasting ice cream then some of the other leading Brands like Ben & Jerry's? It seems to me that the repair while you wait aspect of Cold Stone is just a marketing gimmick so that they can charge more for their product. Does anyone agree or disagree.

michin3 avatar
Mike Chin
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the cold slab is just for mixing in the toppings, not actually preparing the the ice cream. Ice cream itself is ok, maybe little smoother than average. If you want really good ice cream try brand called Graeter's, its only handmade in small batches using french pot method

Load More Replies...
biancasgammini avatar
Bianca Sgammini
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What adds insult to injury for me, is when your work is used on a really crappy, meh campaigns. Like the above.

goodnamestaken60 avatar
Brent Clark
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Deplorable. But aint this the fellow who faked being haunted for publicity?

meido_aoten avatar
Johnny Mediocre
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How the hell could the "artist" working for Coldstone actually think that s/he could easily go on with shamelessly tracing a webcomic artist who's already known around the Internet?

lydiababa8 avatar
Lydia Baba
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even the copied versions are so bad. Seeing your work elsewhere as an artist without your knowledge and acknowledgement really painful. Glad he was able to handle this situation very well.

benicia_99 avatar
Azure Adams
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He should still obtain a lawyer to prevent this from happening again. Also cold stone pulls in tons of money, they can donate way more than $10K.

leighcramer avatar
Leigh Cramer
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It seems that their donation of money could be an admission of guilt. Maybe the kind that could hold up in a court of law.

michin3 avatar
Mike Chin
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Meanwhile on his page he's complaining someone stole HIS Totoro design. Ummm... the copyrighted character that you're illegally using? His cat is also stolen from an anime, i'll have to dig around to find specific one, but i've seen it before.

macforme17 avatar
Lindy Mac
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hope this solution implied a cease and desist from continuing to use the stolen work. This method of shaming the thief probably worked much faster than years of litigation...not to mention expense. Blocking some right after asking a question is slimey. Hope curvsnwhatever, grows up soon.

zsuzsi_czompo avatar
magyarRóka
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I see people say his style is very distinguishable, but ive seen many people who can easily mimick / use that style. Also Adam Ellis steals all his jokes from other peoples posts. I mean, ALL the time.

diandramistressdidiblackthorn avatar
Diandra “Mistress Didi” Blackthorn
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The other benefits here are that Adam Ellis' humanitarianism: (1) drew attention to a company's thievery and bad behavior in a way that offered a REPARATION SOLUTION rather than just the non-effective, usual make-wrong that is the barbarian way; (2) positive energy and attention are drawn to Adam Ellis AND his charity. Intelligent companies with people with integrity at the helm WILL want to hire Adam and keep the prosperity energies and consciousness going strong; and (3) coldstone and cohorts will be more considerate in the future -- even if it's just consideration for themselves (as is typical), it will extend to less offense to others -- because they were given the opportunity to EVOLVE CONSCIOUSNESS instead of the need defend their heinous behavior in court -- which also would have wasted Adam's time, finances, and energy -- which was put to a much better use in the way he handles it with LOVE.

cejokilal avatar
Malcontent
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Curvsandcurls is a bit of a c**t it seems- nothing like insulting or criticising someone and blocking them so they can't reply; real sign of maturity right there...

thatonegirl_1 avatar
The girl in the middle
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, we do. Stealing someone else's work is a horrible thing to do... I recall the moment when Domino's stole a young lady's artwork... why do people do this? My guess is that when they cannot make the cartoons themselves, they get jealous and steal from others.

carolandwilliam avatar
Carol Taylor
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Want to know what's sad about this though, the company can then write that off as a taxable donation and claim back a large chunk of it :(

zsuzsi_czompo avatar
magyarRóka
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Youre angry because they helped someone with the money, but they can write it off.... Youd rather no one get helped, because you dont like how taxes work. I dont see whats "sad" about this at all. Youre an evil person.

Load More Replies...
themslollidella avatar
TheMsLollidella
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I really like Adam's work, been a follower for a long time now and its nice he mentioned instead to donate to inner city kids :) idk how they thought no one would notice....his style is recognizable.

moojar avatar
Moo Jar
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"The internet applauding" .... Sweetie, the internet isn't a person

erwinaerts avatar
thebonesaw_ avatar
The Bonesaw ..
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's rich... Adam Ellis had his work stolen. Well, hopefully now he knows how that feels after stealing jokes off of Tumbler.

thebonesaw_ avatar
The Bonesaw ..
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to mention... it's not like they're individual works... the man literally copies and pastes his own work over and over again with new (but somehow the same) unfunny jokes. Not that I'm on Coldstone's side here... just saying it's a pile of s**t... they should have stolen from someone better.

Load More Replies...
philblanque avatar
phil blanque
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah....OK. The style is very badly imitated. But I do not see any evidence that they traced original images. The best argument would be to put side by side the original and traced images. This is poor evidence of anything except copying style, very badly. So badly that it really does not seem like misappropriation at all. If you post your images on the web, this is the risk. If your next post is about your bad break-up, don't bother. Sheeeesh!!!

mpryts avatar
Monica Pryts
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So all of my work that gets published online: I should expect it to be plagiarized?

Load More Replies...
terrythomasphotos avatar
Terry Thomas
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Now by their actions, they have admitted their guilt is the time to invoice them for plagiarization.

chuck_8 avatar
Chuck Lantz
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Having done commercial art for a living, I'm with @curvsandcurls on this one. Coldstone should not have been let off the hook so easily. On the other hand, they had probably hired some local artist, who was the one who actually stole the work.

billmarsano_1 avatar
Bill Marsano
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

The artist who refuses to take seriously the business aspects of his work is a danger to himself and others. And that’s YOU, Adam Ellis, you bloody fool! Coldstone’s donation exactly parallels those cases in which big corporations agree to huge fines government agencies in exchange for “no admission of wrongdoing.” Only in this case, you dolt, you’ve been suckered for a mere 10 grand while implicitly encouraging plagiarism on the basis of low cost. As a moral obligation you owe it to your fellow freelancers to go to a contingency law firm like Cellino and Barnes, which in a free consultation will tell you whether you’ve got a case--and in THIS case will almost certainly tell you that the donation constitutes a de facto admission of guilt. As for businesses ignoring your invoices, they do this for two reasons: 1, it would be an admission of guilt possibly leading to a huge lawsuit and 2, they think you’re a sucker. And you are.

hazelree avatar
Stille20
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Sometimes the "stole art" is just something similar, but he has a distinct style that is highly recognizable. I'm betting they paid someone who ripped of Adam's work and he handled it really well.

keaneye1 avatar
Andrew Keane
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Why is it "stole art" and not stolen art? It is what it is. There are no two ways around it. Companies have a responsibility to make sure the work they use is not plagiarised. This guys work is well known. They knew what they were doing.

Load More Replies...
blackmansombrero avatar
Blackman Sombrero
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

curvsandcurls should rename herself curvsandcunt. It's Adam's art, not yours you overly offended feminist b***h. P**s off.

spazzmuffin avatar
Meche Morier
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Adam Ellis is a champ, but BoredPanda should not be boosting Waiton Farrell's grossly ableist Tweet that unnecessary denigrates people with serious medical conditions.

spazzmuffin avatar
Meche Morier
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Adam Ellis is a champ but BoredPanda should not be boosting Waiton Farrell's Tweet full of grossly ableist language that is unnecessarily denigrating to people with serious medical conditions. It's shameful.

mheath23 avatar
sreesenthill avatar
Sree S
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Jonathan there aren't many cartoonists who would handle a similar situation like this. We must appreciate him for that. The way he handled it without taking revenge. Its amazing!!

Load More Replies...
teddyomalley avatar
Teddy O'Malley
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So annoying when big companies do that, but I'm glad it had a happy outcome. I enjoy and will continue to enjoy the work off Adam Ellis.

katelucas4560 avatar
ChelseaFraser
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

I resigned my office-job and now I am getting paid £64 hourly. How? I work over internet! My old work was making me miserable, so I was forced to try something different, two years after...I can say my life is changed-completely for the better! Check it out what i do... http://cutt.us/77SLR

Load More Replies...
gerry1of1 avatar
Gerry Higgins
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's possible ColdStone didn't know about this. A staff artist stole the stuff and submitted as his own..... I bet he's unemployed now.

sallyapple7 avatar
Sally Appleton
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This whole website is basically an homage to Adam Ellis and I am 100% here for it.

funkymattrocks avatar
stellermatt
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

there's like a million different ways to draw a face, they could've at least TRIED to be different. his style is so spottable, it's just lazy copying. good on him for taking a stand.

young-and-depressed avatar
Arietis
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I bet this is what happened: They just didn't want to put any money in the actual art of their campaign. They probably paid a decent amount for the people who conjured up an 'advertising strategy' and then the rest of the budget didn't allow for an experienced artist. So they hired someone who's somewhat into drawing, someone semi-professional, who traced a few pics because of deadline pressure or because their own style isn't developed enough. And now, due to public pressure, the company has to donate money they couldn't find for a professional artist in the first place.

royalfangirl avatar
H4unt3dF0r3sts
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Although it is frustrating that they weren't sued for plagiarism, I am glad that they had donated money. Adam Ellis did the right thing

atruong74 avatar
SweetMamaP
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lawsuits are time-consuming and expensive with no guarantee that you'll win even if the case looks like a slam dunk. Cold Stone has deep pockets and they could drag it out for years, bankrupting any "little guy" with just the legal costs. Ellis is smart enough understand this. And instead of looking for revenge, he gave them a way to save face and avoided being dragged into a lengthy legal battle with the likelihood of that they'll receive, at most, a small fine. His move was elegant and breathtaking in it's simplicity and impact. Win-Win for everyone (especially Inner City Arts). Now, Adam Ellis can move on, without any legal debt, and create more art.

Load More Replies...
david_daisymayboldock avatar
David Daisy May Boldock
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You steal one you can call it plagiarism. You steal more than one then call it research.

johnlouis avatar
John Louis
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a question that's a little off topic. Is Coldstone any better tasting ice cream then some of the other leading Brands like Ben & Jerry's? It seems to me that the repair while you wait aspect of Cold Stone is just a marketing gimmick so that they can charge more for their product. Does anyone agree or disagree.

michin3 avatar
Mike Chin
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the cold slab is just for mixing in the toppings, not actually preparing the the ice cream. Ice cream itself is ok, maybe little smoother than average. If you want really good ice cream try brand called Graeter's, its only handmade in small batches using french pot method

Load More Replies...
biancasgammini avatar
Bianca Sgammini
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What adds insult to injury for me, is when your work is used on a really crappy, meh campaigns. Like the above.

goodnamestaken60 avatar
Brent Clark
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Deplorable. But aint this the fellow who faked being haunted for publicity?

meido_aoten avatar
Johnny Mediocre
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How the hell could the "artist" working for Coldstone actually think that s/he could easily go on with shamelessly tracing a webcomic artist who's already known around the Internet?

lydiababa8 avatar
Lydia Baba
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even the copied versions are so bad. Seeing your work elsewhere as an artist without your knowledge and acknowledgement really painful. Glad he was able to handle this situation very well.

benicia_99 avatar
Azure Adams
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He should still obtain a lawyer to prevent this from happening again. Also cold stone pulls in tons of money, they can donate way more than $10K.

leighcramer avatar
Leigh Cramer
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It seems that their donation of money could be an admission of guilt. Maybe the kind that could hold up in a court of law.

michin3 avatar
Mike Chin
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Meanwhile on his page he's complaining someone stole HIS Totoro design. Ummm... the copyrighted character that you're illegally using? His cat is also stolen from an anime, i'll have to dig around to find specific one, but i've seen it before.

macforme17 avatar
Lindy Mac
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hope this solution implied a cease and desist from continuing to use the stolen work. This method of shaming the thief probably worked much faster than years of litigation...not to mention expense. Blocking some right after asking a question is slimey. Hope curvsnwhatever, grows up soon.

zsuzsi_czompo avatar
magyarRóka
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I see people say his style is very distinguishable, but ive seen many people who can easily mimick / use that style. Also Adam Ellis steals all his jokes from other peoples posts. I mean, ALL the time.

diandramistressdidiblackthorn avatar
Diandra “Mistress Didi” Blackthorn
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The other benefits here are that Adam Ellis' humanitarianism: (1) drew attention to a company's thievery and bad behavior in a way that offered a REPARATION SOLUTION rather than just the non-effective, usual make-wrong that is the barbarian way; (2) positive energy and attention are drawn to Adam Ellis AND his charity. Intelligent companies with people with integrity at the helm WILL want to hire Adam and keep the prosperity energies and consciousness going strong; and (3) coldstone and cohorts will be more considerate in the future -- even if it's just consideration for themselves (as is typical), it will extend to less offense to others -- because they were given the opportunity to EVOLVE CONSCIOUSNESS instead of the need defend their heinous behavior in court -- which also would have wasted Adam's time, finances, and energy -- which was put to a much better use in the way he handles it with LOVE.

cejokilal avatar
Malcontent
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Curvsandcurls is a bit of a c**t it seems- nothing like insulting or criticising someone and blocking them so they can't reply; real sign of maturity right there...

thatonegirl_1 avatar
The girl in the middle
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, we do. Stealing someone else's work is a horrible thing to do... I recall the moment when Domino's stole a young lady's artwork... why do people do this? My guess is that when they cannot make the cartoons themselves, they get jealous and steal from others.

carolandwilliam avatar
Carol Taylor
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Want to know what's sad about this though, the company can then write that off as a taxable donation and claim back a large chunk of it :(

zsuzsi_czompo avatar
magyarRóka
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Youre angry because they helped someone with the money, but they can write it off.... Youd rather no one get helped, because you dont like how taxes work. I dont see whats "sad" about this at all. Youre an evil person.

Load More Replies...
themslollidella avatar
TheMsLollidella
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I really like Adam's work, been a follower for a long time now and its nice he mentioned instead to donate to inner city kids :) idk how they thought no one would notice....his style is recognizable.

moojar avatar
Moo Jar
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"The internet applauding" .... Sweetie, the internet isn't a person

erwinaerts avatar
thebonesaw_ avatar
The Bonesaw ..
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's rich... Adam Ellis had his work stolen. Well, hopefully now he knows how that feels after stealing jokes off of Tumbler.

thebonesaw_ avatar
The Bonesaw ..
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to mention... it's not like they're individual works... the man literally copies and pastes his own work over and over again with new (but somehow the same) unfunny jokes. Not that I'm on Coldstone's side here... just saying it's a pile of s**t... they should have stolen from someone better.

Load More Replies...
philblanque avatar
phil blanque
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah....OK. The style is very badly imitated. But I do not see any evidence that they traced original images. The best argument would be to put side by side the original and traced images. This is poor evidence of anything except copying style, very badly. So badly that it really does not seem like misappropriation at all. If you post your images on the web, this is the risk. If your next post is about your bad break-up, don't bother. Sheeeesh!!!

mpryts avatar
Monica Pryts
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So all of my work that gets published online: I should expect it to be plagiarized?

Load More Replies...
terrythomasphotos avatar
Terry Thomas
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Now by their actions, they have admitted their guilt is the time to invoice them for plagiarization.

chuck_8 avatar
Chuck Lantz
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Having done commercial art for a living, I'm with @curvsandcurls on this one. Coldstone should not have been let off the hook so easily. On the other hand, they had probably hired some local artist, who was the one who actually stole the work.

billmarsano_1 avatar
Bill Marsano
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

The artist who refuses to take seriously the business aspects of his work is a danger to himself and others. And that’s YOU, Adam Ellis, you bloody fool! Coldstone’s donation exactly parallels those cases in which big corporations agree to huge fines government agencies in exchange for “no admission of wrongdoing.” Only in this case, you dolt, you’ve been suckered for a mere 10 grand while implicitly encouraging plagiarism on the basis of low cost. As a moral obligation you owe it to your fellow freelancers to go to a contingency law firm like Cellino and Barnes, which in a free consultation will tell you whether you’ve got a case--and in THIS case will almost certainly tell you that the donation constitutes a de facto admission of guilt. As for businesses ignoring your invoices, they do this for two reasons: 1, it would be an admission of guilt possibly leading to a huge lawsuit and 2, they think you’re a sucker. And you are.

hazelree avatar
Stille20
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Sometimes the "stole art" is just something similar, but he has a distinct style that is highly recognizable. I'm betting they paid someone who ripped of Adam's work and he handled it really well.

keaneye1 avatar
Andrew Keane
Community Member
5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Why is it "stole art" and not stolen art? It is what it is. There are no two ways around it. Companies have a responsibility to make sure the work they use is not plagiarised. This guys work is well known. They knew what they were doing.

Load More Replies...
blackmansombrero avatar
Blackman Sombrero
Community Member
5 years ago

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curvsandcurls should rename herself curvsandcunt. It's Adam's art, not yours you overly offended feminist b***h. P**s off.

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Meche Morier
Community Member
5 years ago

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Adam Ellis is a champ, but BoredPanda should not be boosting Waiton Farrell's grossly ableist Tweet that unnecessary denigrates people with serious medical conditions.

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Meche Morier
Community Member
5 years ago

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Adam Ellis is a champ but BoredPanda should not be boosting Waiton Farrell's Tweet full of grossly ableist language that is unnecessarily denigrating to people with serious medical conditions. It's shameful.

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