So basically Spike Lee doesn't do the right thing?
The guy just got Bamboozled.
Dear Spike Lee
131–140 of 165 posts
Re: Dear Spike Lee
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
If HN will excuse my rant... They're parasites and bottom dwellers empowered by the fact that online marketing lowered the entry bar into marketing. During my 5-year experience with them, I quit in one where I worked full-time, worked with several dozen of these 'agencies', my ex works for one, and I am due payment tommorow by one. I'm drawing a line here (not nudged by this letter, I've come to that decision few wee…
Their job is to suck your soul out, give you peanut shells, and kiss asses to their clients. Correct. And your job as a freelancer is to do the same thing. I feel slightly sorry for this guy, but his failure to get any kind of deal memo or contract in place shows him to be an amateur. EDIT: I extended my original comment as it was so brief as to be potentially confusing. As for ripping off his design for the poster -…
So long as the author/designer didn't have a contract in place to sell his work, then they don't own it and he retains copyright. As a result they're committing criminal copyright infringement and he should be referring this to the FBI for federal prosecution. They will have zero ability to prove that they own the work so I imagine it might go very well for the designer.
Re: Dear Spike Lee
#133This type of scam permeates throughout society. In web design, media production companies. SOMETIMES PEOPLE JUST WANT TO BELITTLE YOU AND MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR PRACTICE. THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE TO BE SMART WHEN YOU ARE HIRED.
You have to be smart and not be lead on by advertisers.
Re: Dear Spike Lee
#134Re: Dear Spike Lee
#135Re: Dear Spike Lee
#136Where are the internet hippies saying everything should be free?
There is no inconsistency here. Everyone thinks plagiarism is wrong.
Re: Dear Spike Lee
#137Seriously, what is it with "Agencies" lately? Who the F--k are these people? I have heard/experienced a dozen similar stories recently. I have a friend who left a huge agency to freelance–only to have another small agency work him to the bone and take advantage of him almost exactly like the story here. YES I ABSOLUTELY GET THAT THE ONUS IS ON THE FREELANCER/SUB TO GET THEIR CONTRACTS IN PLACE ... But, seriously, the…
Wrong wrong wrong! Even if you don't want to participate in their way of doing business - there's an _enormous_ amount of very high value skills you can learn from them. "A bunch of salespeople in suits tossing around buzzwords so they can land a job taking advantage of a big company's big budget. Everything is a pitch or a comp or a big lead." That is indeed exactly the difference between most "agencies" and most sm…
Good point. The internet is a wonderland!
Re: Dear Spike Lee
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
Their job is to suck your soul out, give you peanut shells, and kiss asses to their clients. Correct. And your job as a freelancer is to do the same thing. I feel slightly sorry for this guy, but his failure to get any kind of deal memo or contract in place shows him to be an amateur. EDIT: I extended my original comment as it was so brief as to be potentially confusing. As for ripping off his design for the poster -…
So long as the author/designer didn't have a contract in place to sell his work, then they don't own it and he retains copyright. As a result they're committing criminal copyright infringement and he should be referring this to the FBI for federal prosecution. They will have zero ability to prove that they own the work so I imagine it might go very well for the designer.
Surely you're a lawyer with extensive experience in copyright law to make such a claim.
Re: Dear Spike Lee
#139Where are the internet hippies saying everything should be free?
> Where are the internet hippies saying everything should be free?
Are you trolling?
Even the extreme open source advocates would agree that, if you commission a guy to do some work for you for an agreed price, you should pay him.
Re: Dear Spike Lee
#140From the comments so far, these lessons seem relevant:
1) Get a contract signed up front. If possible, make sure you're allowed to discuss your experience with the firm publicly along the way, so you're allowed to talk about it (good or bad).
2) watch "fuck you, pay me" (http://vimeo.com/22053820)
3) Spike Lee hires a firm that brings him top talent and work, but that firm treats that talent like shit. We (all the netizens!) are giving Spike Lee the benefit of the doubt, as he appears to be unaware of this practice.
4) These agencies need to be called out more often for unfair business practices, no matter how reputable they are. They don't have to like their talent as people, but they must respect their talent and the skills of the community they serve.
As long as you're not publicly mentioning this firm's name, I hope you are privately notifying ALL the designers you know to never work with this agency and mention the firm by name.
Sorry you got shafted like this, but you're clearly making the most of it. Your artwork is great, by the way, keep it up - I suspect this bad egg won't poison your future livelihood ;)
Edit: formatting