Does Fiverr care about copyright?

[miketeller]

I’ve been told that Fiverr takes copyright seriously, that it’s not their fault that sellers post stuff that infringes on copyrights, etc. I’m calling B.S. It’s just too common, and too obvious I think, at least in the Logo category. Sellers even steal from each other, posting the same preview images of stolen work that none of them actually did. It’s a joke scrolling down the Logo page, seeing duplicates upon duplicates of copied or stolen designs. And stock templates. And yes, it’s copyright infringement to use a stock template to sell similar services and goes against licensing terms at any stock agency/site. Stock designs can’t be used in a setting in which the seller asserts/implies that they created the design.



So I’d like to do 2 things:

1. Ask, in all seriousness, if Fiverr really has any concern about copyright infringement? Or am I wasting my time thinking that the company would ever make any sort of minimal effort to put a stop to it?
   
   
2. Offer a few examples of obvious infringement that I can find with just a few minutes of browsing:
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/jesterr/design-vintage-logo
   
   Stolen Hook & Irons logo, stolen John T. Law logo, stolen Pixel Union logo, all from Dribble and from various other artists. Worse yet, this is a “Recommended” gig.
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/gfx_masters/design-badgeretro-and-vintage-logo
   
   Another guy claiming the Hook & Irons logo as his own.
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/jesterr/design-retro-logo
   
   And another. In fact this guy didn’t do any of the logos he’s showing here.
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/sehrah_design/design-retro-vintage-logo
   
   Uses a stock template preview image from Creative Market. Not even trying to hide the fact that they didn’t do these designs.
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/najeeb_sultan86/do-retro-vintage-logo
   
   Another stock user. Again, not even trying to cover up the use of a logo template bundle preview image.
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/develpor/design-an-awesome-professional-retro-vintage-logo
   
   This preview image is the most commonly (mis)used image in the Logo category. Tons of sellers use this design, and none of them actually made it. If you see this image, the gig is a con.
   
   
   
   Hey, look, here’s another one! https://www.fiverr.com/nxpe_13x/make-a-custom-qr-code-of-your-choice
   
   
   
   And another! https://www.fiverr.com/nikky_design/create-3-beautiful-retro-style-vintage-logos
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/graphicsoven/write-your-short-message-among-coffee-steam--2
   
   Pretty much every logo in this first preview image is ripped off.
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/designcloud17/design-a-professional-logo-with-free-revisions
   
   Nope, he didn’t do that Vegetable Man logo.
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/sweetzahid58/design-retro-vintage-logo-and-badge
   
   All stock templates.
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/ak_graphics/design-a-professional-logo-with-free-revisions
   
   Robot Ink logo? Stolen.
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/hyperx/design-a-unique-logo--2
   
   Code Geek? Also stolen.
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/waqardesigns17/design-a-custom-logo-with-unlimited-revisions
   
   Shutterbug logo is ripped.
   
   
   
   https://www.fiverr.com/logo0724/creative-typography-logo-design
   
   Foxy looking logos there. But unless this seller has as many aliases as they do fox logos, they’re all rip-offs.
   
   
   
   And list could go on and on and on…
   
   
   
   So, Fiverr… any chance you guys are interested in stopping the insanity and supporting REAL designers who do honest, good, custom work? Or will you just continue to promote and feature the con-artists, the hacks, the thieves, and the scammers?
   

[catwriter]

Fiverr is understaffed, so they rely on others to report copyright violations to them.

[miketeller]

Reply to @catwriter: Lack of adequate staff isn’t really a good excuse. And I think Fiverr hides behind their DMCA policy stating that the copyright holder must be the person to file a claim. I’ve tried reporting infringements in the past and they get ignored because I’m not the copyright holder.



Seems convenient if you’re trying not to have to spend any time or effort putting a stop to this stuff. And as long as Fiverr is content with the reputation they have (just search Twitter if you’re wondering how Fiverr is regarded in the broader graphic design community), then I guess they have no reason to change what they’re doing, right?



It seems like a shame, though. This place could be a more well-regarded marketplace with a better reputation and providing a better environment for honest sellers to work, with just minimal effort in policing for infringements. It doesn’t take more than a cursory glance at the logo gig listings to quickly spot lots of infringements like the ones I’ve mentioned above.