Another Day, Another Ripped Off Design…

“There have been loads of copycats since this series of admittedly simplistic t-shirt designs, created by Alyssa Zukas, first appeared at Urban Outfitters in 2007. Most of the biters were clever enough to change things a bit, but not this time. They even had the nerve to use the original Urban Outfitters product photography, AND Alyssa’s name, all over their site. The original tees have “Alyssa Zukas” and a bio screenprinted into the inner neck tag area, along with Urban’s made-up store brand “Spark in the Dark.”

Yes, that’s right… my shirts have been jacked once again! Check out the “you thought we wouldn’t notice” post to see the whole article including comparison shots and get the word out there about crappy counterfeiting!

Tags: Alyssa Zukas, artist series, counterfeit, heart, heart shirt, rip off, Star Shirt, t-shirt, UptownGirl.tv, urban outfitters, you thought we wouldn't notice

Look familiar? Strange, I didn’t think I worked with Kmart. (Counterfeit / ripoff alert)

Say what you will about Kmart… I didn’t think they’d stoop this low. Friends of mine were there earlier today and gave me a call to let me know that a t-shirt they saw there looked very similar to the Heart Tee I did as part of my Urban Outfitters artist series tees in 2008. A quick online search later, and lookie here… a bit familiar, dontcha think?

And some more that may have been… oh… lightly “inspired by” my original designs:

I guess imitation is the highest form of flattery and yadda yadda. On the bright side, it looks like my stuff has caught on so much that big-box stores want their little piece of the action. But I’ll be honest with you—it’s not like I’m making bank on my designs… I still rely on every single item I sell to make ends meet.

What do you think… outright theft? Or [gag]… fair use? Sound off in the comments. I’m pretty P’ed-O and I could use some moral support.

Tags: Alyssa Zukas, artist series, counterfeit, heart, heart shirt, kmart, rip off, t-shirt, urban outfitters