I know I’ve been seeing stuff for a while that questions the validity of CF but this is starting to get real-world.
18 Likes
That video popped up on my recommendations earlier today but I haven’t taken time to watch it.
I don’t use CF so I probably won’t watch it, although now that I’ll probably start selling stuff online I’ll be extra careful about copyright (although I’m generally really careful about it anyway).
13 Likes
I do use Creative Fabrica, but I don’t sell anything. I hope that means I don’t need to worry. Except, that is, for worrying about inadvertently using someone’s stolen design.
12 Likes
So were these designs stolen and put on Creative Fabrica for sale? Because otherwise I’m a bit confused how a seller who posts designs on CF, knowing the designs will be sold with commercial rights, can sue people who bought their design and are using it to make products to sell.
I’ve only put one design up on CF that i have listed for free. I had written a corresponding how-to article/tutorial to go with it, which is why i shared it for free. It’s such a generic design that I’ve since seen several similar since then, including the GF catalog. I put it in there knowing people could make it, copy it, sell it; so i can’t imagine suing anyone over it.
10 Likes
It’s more then likely ripped off or stolen from Etsy or other sites and then posted to CF since they don’t verify ownership
10 Likes
I’m puzzled by this as well. I’ve used CF for a few years now, and have included some elements from them in my catalog designs. This is totally above board, as I document their use in my submission, and include links to the license for each one.
Each purchased design includes a UUID that points to the specific license applicable to that specific design, as shown below:
CF then provides a License Validator that can be used to verify that the purchaser has in fact licensed that design:
The full text of the applicable license may be found in the link just under the info block.
With all these protections in place, I don’t see how the end user can be held responsible for a design that was accepted by CF. They are the ones that should be doing due diligence before accepting a design for inclusion.
12 Likes
if you watch the video, you will see toward the end the “disclaimers” that CF has to avoid liability. will they hold up in court? who knows. do the people who are getting take down notices and being sued for $1000-2000 have the resources to then turn around and sue CF in turn? less likely.
maybe if there are enough of them, they could try as a group?
11 Likes
Part of me also is wondering if Etsy isn’t complicate in this, as they seem to be the ones working with these scummy lawyers
10 Likes
Etsy is covering it’s own a##. they take down immediately to avoid getting sued themselves.
but hey, just one more reason not to trust any of those sites that sell that kind of stuff. i’ll stick with the behemoth of adobe (altho i know not everyone has access to their stuff like i do) if i really need a starting point. and outside of that i create from scratch.
9 Likes
Someone posted about a discounted subscription to that site last year, so I went and started to sign up, then I realized that 99% of the content was AI-generated slop. This was in January 2024, so we’re talking horrifying, melted-limb monstrosities. To their credit, their customer service responded to my concerns, but they had no solution other than thanking me for my patience while they work to improve the output.
I just don’t see why I would pay a clipart service that has zero quality control and where I have to wade through easter bunnies with three ears or whatever this abomination unto the lord is. I can vomit prompts into GenAI on my own.
Anyway, I just saw the name and was reminded of this incident, kind of glad I didn’t become a customer.
13 Likes
Wow, that’s hard to unsee. The dinner item looked like two turkeys in a passionate embrace, well-done.
12 Likes
…complete with feet and claws. 
10 Likes
I have purchased a few things from CF but never subscribed.
However, I have purchased a lot more from DesignBundles (and FontBundles). I don’t usually sell any items from designs I get from places like that, but I had considered using elements purchased there to make my own designs to sell.
I suppose if I do that, that would likely prevent the issues with being sued.
I think that’s exactly what has happened. This is one of the reasons I haven’t really sold my designs on Etsy. People are stealing EVERYTHING anymore. Sometimes people steal designs from someone on Etsy, then turn around and put it for sale on their Etsy store, then the original store gets accused of stealing. It’s awful.
5 Likes