Decknowledgy wrote:akicer wrote:This is their original design
And people found the Chinese character was designed by someone else
So they changed the "Mountain" character a little be and have the rendering showing on the campaign page.
Bocopo is losing a lot of Chinese fans because of the repetitive copyright issue
I just feel so satisfied about this news, because f*&k plagiarism
Bocopo should just go to hell.
This is not a post to defend them at all, but a little explanation might be needed:
We view decks like this in a view of western ethics. Some eastern countries follow more closely to this (Japan, Korea) others not so much (China) One thing that I have to clarify at least once a week to my students at least once a week is that graphic designers are not the same as graphic artists. Graphic Artists create the content that Graphic Designers use. There is some overlap, but not much as graphic designers might have 10-12 projects on their plate at one time, with much shorter deadlines than graphic artists...usually. A good example of this is the ads you see on a daily basis. They were put together from found resources to make a product or service look appealing, and you are seeing one of 20-30 that were most likely put together in under a month.
A general though in China is that if you put your stuff up on the internet in a format that people can copy and use, you relinquish rights, and as such anyone can use them (This is why it is good practice for ANYONE to watermark and not put high-res images online, unless they are behind a paywall). In the west we view this as "Ripping off," in the east it is making use of available resources. Why reinvent the wheel, when you can make it look new? If you have ever visited a market in parts of Asia, you are well familiar with Caveat Emptor, Buyer Beware. Should it be encouraged? Absolutely not. Will it change anything? Not in the slightest. The idea is there are always markets that will buy, and if you dont, fine, we will find someone who will.
Its a shitty situation, and I openly condemn them for it. It is what it is. There are artists that respect the rights of others, but many that dont. Them not making a sale isnt going to phase them in the lease when there are 400 other people that can take your place.
source: I taught design and other creative subjects in China, and have had this debate with the school administration. Its a HUGE problem, but until the core ideas that fuel these practices are broken, it will not change. I will happily answer or clarify questions people have about this.