I'm just being paranoid... right?

[ristvak]

So... I searched "My Little Pony Cross Stitch" on etsy today. I do this fairly often, I like to see what other people are putting out (and get a feel for the competition, lol!)

Well!
Imgine my surprise when I saw this: http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo13 ... tershy.jpg
Hm... call me paranoid, but that looks AWFULLY similar to my own Fluttershy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/79326104/my ... oss-stitch

I messaged her to see what she'd say about the similarity and... well her answers just don't sit well with me. She uses MacStitch to create her patterns (obvious) but she claims they are made based on scans of her sketches that were based off fan art from DA. She attached several images that she used for reference but the trouble is... NONE of them match up with any of the patterns she's posted!

I pointed out that it's pretty much matching mine stitch for stitch but she "certainly can't tell that from etsy pictures". Really? Cause... I showed them to several other people (most of whom don't stitch) and even they could see the similarity.

And this is NOT the only listing the leaves an uneasy feeling in my gut. This is simply the most obvious because she used different characters for her other listings (but trust me, it's the same pattern).

Now similar? Sure! My patterns are based of Hasbro lineart. I will fully cop to that. But I actually make pixels of them by hand and then zoom in and transfer them to a grid pixel by pixel. So yes, similar poses are ENTIRELY possible, but... stitch for stitch?? What are the odds of that?

Here's my Fluttershy pixel, I can't remember which line edit I ended up using (it was either 2 or 3) so I'm just posting them all-

Spoiler

So long story short I didn't reply to her last message because I couldn't find a way to call her a liar without opening myself up to being reported but I did also report her Fluttershy listing (since, as I said before, it's the most obvious copy) so we'll see what Etsy has to say.... -sighs-

[blackmageheart]

Ooohhh it's hard to say, really. It does look like your pattern, though. I compared the two images and counted the stitches in a few random areas -they match perfectly
While it is possible that two people can end up with the same pattern (god knows it's easy to do so with the Marios and Sonics and Space Invaders etc), I'd say in your case it's kinda unlikely. I mean, she says hers are made from sketches of fan art she saw on dA...yours are from the Hasbro lineart...to get the exact same pattern from those two sources is probably almost impossible. I say almost because it *could* happen, and I *could* shoot rainbows from my butt (given enough practice, I believe I might actually be able to do it).

Because you both don't own any rights to MLP and it's characters, I'm not sure where you stand. It's probably best to see what Etsy say in that regard.

Please let us know what happens!

[spinuntilyoufall]

Yeah, the exact stitch count makes it look too close for my comfort... Like BMH said, if it was a Mario pose or something I'd say she has more of a leg to stand on, but..... exact same pattern (and it's totally easy to count stitches on something like that, it's not like it's a 300x300 landscape or something... not sure why she can't see it, maybe she has a tiny screen...)

I always worry that I'm kind of infringing sometimes since I use copyrighted images to create patterns off of, but I think that the cool thing to do is to give credit (if it's something like Nintendo where they are not going to respond to a request to make a pattern out of their sprite,) or certainly to ask permission if you're using someone on DA's sketches to create your patterns (for re-sale) and still give credit. But it's never cool to take someone's pattern and call it your own.

Hopefully Etsy resolves this for you... not cool if someone stole your pattern and is trying to re-sell it Make your own dang patterns!!

P.S. Everything in your shop is great! I've never followed MLP, but that little alligator thing is FREAKING ADORABLE

[ristvak]

The sad thing is she attached the DA images she had used for reference and none of them matched up with ANY of her patterns. Way to fail at proving your case >.<
And I don't think I have the sole right over MLP cross stitches by any means, but stitch for stitch on something that WASN'T originally an 8-bit.... yeah that's going to make me automatically assume you're a thief, sorry. Especially when the few pony patterns that don't look like mine look like... well... crap XD Sorry, but they do.
The curse of the digital age I suppose but still totally lame! I'd honestly be less upset if she would just admit to it... I would happily send her a message about 'ok it's Hasbro characters and line art but you should still try to make it your own SOMEHOW, grabbing someone else's work is just lame.' But no, 4 identical 50 x 60 (ish) stitch sized patterns (back stitching too on some of them) is just coincidence and I should suck it up.
Not without a fight I won't! lol

P.S. Everything in your shop is great! I've never followed MLP, but that little alligator thing is FREAKING ADORABLE

Hehe, thanks! I do plan to carry more than just MLP but I'm slow in that regard. The little alligator is Gummy. He's a toothless alligator owned by Pinkie Pie and he's kind of awesome (and sa little slow in the head if I had to guess XD) I can't get youtube to work but IF you're curious I highly reccommend youtubing "Friendship is Magic Party of One". If I remember correctly he's in the first few minutes =)

[IzzyXIII]

This reminds me of a problem that Wolfdreamer (who makes amazing crochet patterns, some free on her site, some for sale, in case you didn't know) had a while ago. Basically, someone had taken a free pattern of hers, and put it up for sale on their own etsy shop. If I remember correctly, she didn't have much luck dealing with Etsy.

I hope you have better luck with your situation, the stuff you have for sale on your Etsy is awesome!

[gamerwolff]

That totally sucks! I gather all sorts of sprites from everywhere but theyre saves in my faves so i can go back to the origionally image and see if the person who designed it wants credit or not. If not I just post my finished work, if they do as a courtesy i put that mt piece was adapted from said artwork. But to resell something you stole is just lame....and morally backwards. Personal use is one thing personal gain at someone else's expense is a whole nother ball game. Stick to your guns!