Me, the rip off artist
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- kelpie
I'm finding this hard to believe. I'm so livid!!
I have just had another agency on the phone to inform me that I have ripped off some pitch work done by them some weeks ago for a job that we have just completed.
The work in question was brought in on boards to our studio by the client as "stuff we'd thrown together to secure funding from our bosses. Use this as a reference please etc"
I don't want to link stuff cos this is on-going, but I feel terrible and I hope the client isn't put through to me on the phone today or I will be getting sacked at the end of the day, if you catch my meaning.
The agency is quite well known up my way (and like a drink, if you want a clue).
- pascii0
the question is: did you?
if not, don't be worried but get a good lawyer if they want to grab your belongings
- skt0
No way kelpie, you work for cremola foam.
- kelpie0
ha ha ha skt.
Pascii, the thing is I DID! sort of anyway - I used teh visuals as a guide to a new design, but teh big visual cues they used are still in there - that was the point.
I didn't know another agency had done th edesign as a pitch though, I mean I'm not INTENTIONALY guilty, but I am guilty.
It sucks, that's all - I feel like I've ripped these guys off and I've always really liked what they do.
Yes, I am teh cunto™
- pascii0
uh-oh - i see ££££££ going down the drain.
- kelpie0
mmm. :( I think the $$$ will be coming from the client in this case thankfully.
thankyou for allowing me to rant. :)
- rabattski0
holy shit. what an asshole client you have. he used pitches from other agencies as "reference" and didn't tell you that? wow. you know that happens a lot, companies who organize pitches (ofcourse unpaid) to get a lot of feedback and ideas. a client with ethics won't use other agencies stuff or go with the agency who made the stuff they like the most but some really steal it. your client really can be filed under complete cunts. the issue however is not between you and the agencies who's work has been ripped but between the client and that agency. what you can do is contact your client and ask for explanation, what the deal is, and if the client is aware that it's very unethic.
- randoman0
If this helps:
Something similar happened to me once, except the other way around. We had pitched a company with boards, the company kept the boards for consideration, and ended up going with another agency. Thing is, we also knew people in the other agency. Well, to make a long story short, we found out that this other agency had "repurposed" our boards for the companie's campaign.
So we talked to them and found that they were told by the company that they not only could do this, but just sort of short of insisted on it. (sounds similar to your situation).
So we sat down with the other agency and talked it out... it came down to neglegance on the part of said company and everything was worked out without the need for fighting over it.
- pascii0
unethical clients are the new black
- rabattski0
randoman, and what was discussed with the said client?
- rabattski0
unethical clients we can do a lot about pascii. a) teach them and b) deny / stop working for them.
- kelpie0
thanks guys, Randoman, that sounds exactly right, Rabbatski as ever you are da man with the advice and Stewart, cheers I needed that :)
grr and gnn indeed.
- chossy0
next time they ask you to do something shout out ' fuck y'all mutha fuckkas ad suck my dong'
- kelpie0
ha ha it's not them Stewart.
I really should not be revealing who it is, but I'm sure you bastards will figure it out :)
- skt0
next time they ask you to do something shout out ' fuck y'all mutha fuckkas ad suck my dong'
chossy
(May 13 05, 03:14)or "suck ma boaby" not being a yank and all that. sentiment is spot on though chossy.
- kelpie0
Choss, believe me if I had tehm on the phone their ass would be the proverbial grass mate :)
- stem0
unethical clients are the new black
pascii
(May 13 05, 03:10)It would appear that: unethical clients are the new grey area.
I guess it comes down to who is claiming ownership of the work.
You could say you were asked to work along the ideas put forward by the client, so, really these weren't your own ideas, if you were paid, it was as a basic "labour' charge. Let the client take ownership of the work, let them argue it out in court.
- chossy0
leith agency and or newhaven no doubt.
- randoman0
We talked to the client and let them know that they didn't have permission to use anything that was presented to them. Despite the fact this was told to them at our presentation. Thats it.