Thanks for clarifying this John. Apology accepted.
This is sort of just a general statement about this issue:
There's a lot of people in the automotive and non-automotive industry alike that wouldn't necessarily be exposed to what it means to use artistic work without permission being granted. It's a lot like downloading music for free or burning a copy of a DVD from a friend. In the journalism industry it's basically plagiarism. Artists make money on the use of their creativity, skills and intellectual property.
If someone uses my art without my permission, first, they're getting my work for free when someone else paid for it. It's not fair and it's very upsetting to my clients and I have a duty to make every reasonable effort to protect them. Second, the art could be used in such a way that is defamatory or detrimental to my brand and could jeopardize potential clients and my livelihood. It's literally stealing.
I have to send out 2-3 letters every other month to people that have used my art in ads, magazine articles, web banners, event promos and even Tshirts without asking permission. It's frustrating when some of these people think that just because the image was posted on the internet they're entitled to use it as they please.
Anyway, this situation was resolved. Thanks for your cooperation John.
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