UPDATED:The bannings continue....

[Jason Manley]

Multiple now former ca members were banned so far today for uploading ca content to torrents. Information is posted below. We have stressed repeatedly to not be sharing conceptart.org owned materials or the videos which support this all volunteer community. Such illegal behavior is a violation of international copyright law and banned members will be pursued to the full extent of the law. We have asked repeatedly for those doing the torrent uploading to stop, to remove the videos, and to help this community protect all artists rights.

I wish I didn't have to spend my saturday doing this. Really. I would rather be painting or working on conceptart.org 4.0.

:(

See the posts below as CA is serving notice. Officially. TORRENT UPLOADING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

If you have uploaded videos to the torrents, now is the time to take them down. ConceptArt.Org's Lawyer Jeffrey Rose esq. will be much easier to deal with if they are removed.

[Justice Von Brandt]

That's extremely low for CA members to do that

[Hive_minD]

That's extremely low for CA members to do that

Even though I totally agree. It still doesn't surprise me...

[Jason Manley]

I am not happy that this is happening. It is highly disappointing and unfortunate that conceptart.org members and working professionals are uploading conceptart.org materials to the torrents in violation of international copyright law. Such laws protect ALL our rights. To those doing the torrent uploading, please think about how you would feel if it was your art being taken from you and handed out to people in the street.

Here is the first. Video game artist "Einhager". We have managed to have the torrents removed during our normal maintenance and I have thoroughly researched this matter and felt it time to bring this to the forefront of the community.

Do not be contacting him. Period. However he is now banned and will never work with Massive Black or be affilliated with conceptart.org again. Not only that, but he is going to be hearing from conceptart.org attorneys. We are going to fight for artist rights and for the sake of this community until the matter is settled or the courts decide the penalties.

Videos illegally uploaded to torrent: Andrew Jones (3 videos), Marko Djurdjevic Character Ideation, Jason Chan Painter Sketch, Coro (two videos), Whit Brachna's Outdoor Environment Vid, and Shawn Barber's Foundation Painting. This was done repeatedly over many months. It was not a one time violation.

The below text and photo is public information on his profiles which are linked. No private information has been posted.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/wyldstudios

http://www.facebook.com/franklin.barrientos

http://wyldstudios.deviantart.com/

http://www.wyldstudios.com/main/about/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[alesoun]

Jason, I'm sorry this is happening. It doesn't make good reading.
Sorry your Saturday is spoiled, too.

[Jason Manley]

There are more to come. Quite a few actually.

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Wow, on his site he actually lists massive black and conceptart.org as "inspirations"...and this is how he returns the favor?!

I really do hope that everyone complies with your request not to contact them.

[Jason Manley]

Do not contact, harass, or bother, any of the users who are banned. We will not tolerate that. Anyone doing so will also be banned.

[Kamikazebob]

wow, such talent too. shit sucks. Hope ya find time to paint man. Therapeutic.

[Jazz]

My goodness, and didn't you talk about this for weeks, Jason... I mean, straight nerve to do what they've done. That's is just a shame. :( That's all I can say.

[Hyskoa]

So I get the how and now the who, but the why eludes me.

[Jason Manley]

ca members who have uploaded to the torrents can avoid problems and banning if they go to their torrent accounts and REMOVE ALL VIDEOS immediately.

[Wiggles]

I applaud you for using your time to support fellow artists, Jason. We can feel safe knowing you will protect our artwork and, hopefully, teaching public awareness of piracy.
Piracy is an infection that harms the inflicted but allows the pest to survive. Please be aware and help out fellow artists.

Jason, might I suggest looking at this? (I'm sure you have): http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=160996

I speak in support of the artist's rights, without fear or intimidation to fight for justice, to protect their rights. But I am only one person, as are you Jason, and the other people here on this forum. Together we are an entity made up of artists that serves the artist for the security and the sanctity of our work. Public awareness is the key to opening the public's eyes to reality. The reality is piracy is a federal crime and you are indeed liable to be punished under federal law.

I'm sorry your time was used filing breaches in Copyright Law. If only the vandals never had the audacity to harm another human being's work. I can safely say CA and myself salute and thank you for putting your time into improving our trust in CA, into providing security for our work and into chasing the criminals who broke federal law.

Thank you for all that you do! :)

-Wiggs

[Jason Manley]

I repeat. Do not contact the banned users. Do not harass them.

pencildj has been banned permanently. Like the other torrent uploader, he will no longer be participating here in any form, nor will he work with Massive Black at any point in his future. He uploaded Shawn Barber's Painting Video and those of Noxizmad.

ConceptArt.Org has given official notice on these forums for the past eighteen months that torrent uploading in this community will not be tolerated and such copyright theft will be dealt with to the full extent of the law.


http://pencildj.myjalbum.net/

www.myspace.com/pencildj

http://pencildj.deviantart.com/

http://pencildj.cgsociety.org/gallery

[IMBass]

I think it is safe to say this will have a large effect on their opportunities for a career.

Think about it pirates. Is it really worth it? Do you want to destroy your own dreams?

[Ghostbrush]

this is a great message to all those who think its fair to rip off this community.

talk about shitting on ur doorstep :D

[evamonkeyn2]

wow, such talent too.

Yeah. Its almost as if he learned directly from top level industry professionals... Through some kind of conceptual art education program. My mental image of the average person doing this was 17-18 years old tops, not someone who has been freelancing for 15 years. He could have made his own tutorials and thrown them onto torrents. Sad sad sad.

[Jason Manley]

On a side note. This thread will continue to be moderated. Think before you post.

[Zaxser]

*shit hits the fan*

Sigh.

[TASmith]

Man, I still need to buy more of your downloads. I still want that James Kei figure tutorial. Don't take down your downloads yet!

As for the pirates, man I can only imagine how they must feel now seeing themselves on this wall of shame.

[Zapp!]

Yeah! burn those pirates! Glad to see that after all the warnings he has given, Jason isn't full of empty threats. However, would it not be easy for these people just to make a new account here and pretend to be someone else, while still taking the benefits this site gives? I don't really know much about running a website or forum so I was just curious as to whether you can stop them doing that.

Anyways, I hope these bannings help to deter those scurvy pirates.

[hunchback]

nice work jason

I agree that the pirating should stop, you guys built this website to help artists grow and meet each other, you charge for the downloads and dvds to help grow this great community and make it better for everyone.

If you cant get a dvd or a download, then theres plenty of free information all over the website and internet (other than torrents) that can make you better. I think people who download torrents are looking for a quick boost to being a better artist. looking at the artists who have been banned, i dont think much of them. I think you really have to put in a lot of work to make yourself a better artist, not simply buy a nox dvd....

[Brun]

I'm not trying to undermine an ounce of the hard work that went into creating the videos and these guys who uploaded the torrents absolutely did something wrong. Kudos to Jason for protecting the rights of the artists who created them. But attempting to blacklist them from the industry?

I hope there's a peaceful resolution to the issue on both sides.


I agree, although Jason's way might be harsh, it will set an example to other pirates so they might think twice...

difficult situation !

Best of luck Jason, I hope this sets an example for all pirates out there

(ps: sry for the poor english, I'm not too good at expressing myself in english)

[DavePalumbo]

The below text and photo is public information on his profiles which are linked.

can you explain why please?

[Jason Manley]

I will continue to moderate this thread. If you wish to discuss the piracy issue with me, send me a PM.

As for the information. It is public. The online world is a tremendous resource. ConceptArt.Org torrenting members have been warned for the past year and a half to not pirate the content and hurt the artists in this community. Users who do so will be banned and the public information associated with their online profiles will be uploaded here to this thread. This website is a media resource just like the industry news sites or other press groups. We are able to post news if internal community matters, not just external.

Those uploaders who remove the conceptart.org videos from the torrents now, can potentially avoid future issues.

[N D Hill]

All I can say is that it's really sad it's come to this. I totally empathize with Jason and the obviously the artists who are sharing their knowledge. The two videos I have are worth every penny. In fact the very idea of inexpensive top-notch educational resources being put in jeopardy by aspiring professional artists strikes me as such a shot in the foot. It's nothing short of a complete failure to see their own hypocrisy and how their actions cheapen the craft. We have enough assholes who don't want to pay us a fair price for our work or believe we should be happy with just exposure.

With that said, Idiot Apathy and Steph have a point. I feel there's a lot of temptation for people to jump on a bandwagon to shit on these guys. People who, odds are, have had similar 'lapses' in their appreciation for the ownership of another artists work, be it visual or music. I certainly know that I've been guilty of it when I was younger, dumber and completely ignorant of the struggles I'd face now, trying to make a buck with my art. Sure I've known better for a while now but it's scary to imagine how my mistake back then in feeling a little too 'entitled' could be effecting me to this day had I been caught and handled similarly. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do everything in your power to put a stop to the theft. Piracy is wrong, it's dumb, and worst of all, as I said, it cheapens the craft. The legal proceedings are justified in getting them to stop. But the blacklisting?

I really hope that isn't taken the wrong way. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jason and a great appreciation for the resource that's being provided in CA. Hell, The amount I've benefited from conceptart.org is worth a retroactive subscription fee.

[Jason Manley]

All I can say is that it's really sad it's come to this. I totally empathize with Jason and the obviously the artists who are sharing their knowledge. The two videos I have are worth every penny. In fact the very idea of inexpensive top-notch educational resources being put in jeopardy by aspiring professional artists strikes me as such a shot in the foot. It's nothing short of a complete failure to see their own hypocrisy and how their actions cheapen the craft. We have enough assholes who don't want to pay us a fair price for our work or believe we should be happy with just exposure.

With that said, Idiot Apathy and Steph have a point. I feel there's a lot of temptation for people to jump on a bandwagon to shit on these guys. People who, odds are, have had similar 'lapses' in their appreciation for the ownership of another artists work, be it visual or music. I certainly know that I've been guilty of it when I was younger, dumber and completely ignorant of the struggles I'd face now, trying to make a buck with my art. Sure I've known better for a while now but it's scary to imagine how my mistake back then in feeling a little too 'entitled' could be effecting me to this day had I been caught and handled similarly. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do everything in your power to put a stop to the theft. Piracy is wrong, it's dumb, and worst of all, as I said, it cheapens the craft. The legal proceedings are justified in getting them to stop. But the blacklisting?

I really hope that isn't taken the wrong way. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jason and a great appreciation for the resource that's being provided in CA. Hell, The amount I've benefited from conceptart.org is worth a retroactive subscription fee.


Thank you. I hear you, and agree with much of what you said. I appreciate the support too.

I have tried for many many many months to have the torrent uploading members listen to me on this issue. Six weeks ago when I saw the massive damages ca was taking financially due to complete and total disrespect by the pirating members (we were seeing upwards of three thousand NEW uploads per day happening and business was at extreme and immediate risk...and by business I mean CA...It was either stop it or turn the whole place into a pay site or close doors. Fortunately the majority of the uploading slowed as quite a few began to understand the effects it was having here, but it has continued still. Fortunately those who really believe in this community have been extremely supportive and have helped keep things moving forward.

Go read the thread on the downloads coming to an end. Watch all the arguing. There are far too many who do not believe there are consequences for their actions. Well there are consequences. ConceptArt.Org is a media site, as well as an educational home for us all. CA will continue to report on matters which are important to the art world and to this community.

If someone stole Steph Leberis art and then was out giving it away and selling it and she was nearing the point where she could no longer operate as an artist and that person was discovered, the lounge would be like the streets of Tehran. Just as when CA member Magic Pen lifted the featured artists work and that of Quake 4 years ago to go get jobs. Most of you won't remember that but it was all very much in the open. It had to be. The user was taking jobs from companies and stealing nda work and art directors were flying him in for interviews based on work that was not his.

This is no different. Those uploading videos have been warned for the past year and a half.

There is a very simple solution. The uploaders can remove all videos from the torrent sites, and stop breaking international copyright law.

If you have not uploaded videos to the torrents you have nothing to worry about.

[zulu]

i agree and disagree, nobody is perfect, people make mistakes, the law isnt perfect too, but they knew that was wrong.
Artists bust their asses to make something for other artists to learn.
this is their work and in this case isnt free and people should respect that.
i wish everything was free, should be, but this capitalistic world that we are living broke that a long time ago.
They are doing this FOR YOU.
And they have to eat too, and doing piracy with their work is disrespecting.


personaly i dont have any tutorial, i wish i have money to pay for them, but i live in the third world.


Sorry for my english!
Peace.

[Jason Manley]

Thank you for the comments everyone. I am going to lock and sticky this thread. It will be updated in the near future.

[Jason Manley]

Artist Alphaf of the polykarbon forums, after a rant, had this to say about conceptart.org downloads.

"not that I've payed for previous ones"

Aaron Flores (alphaf) goes on to say this to start his sketchbook thread over there

"Disclaimer:
All art featured in this thread is property of AlphaF and is therefore protected by international law. None of it may be used for self promotion or may claimed t be yor own. Any use of the pictures here must be with the artist´s consent."

I wonder how he would feel if CA started stealing his work when he becomes a professional. Probably not very good.

http://polykarbonbbs.com/showthread.php?t=7685

Artists must work together to protect the rights we all share. This is a simple fact. Without that, we have nothing.

Because he has stolen from this community he is now banned from any participation in conceptart.org and while he is still only beginning his journey, he will never work with Massive Black, participate in the workshops, or any future programs offered by CA.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v6...haf/?start=220

http://alphaf.deviantart.com/

[Jason Manley]

ConceptArt.Org member Sahej is banned for downloading and seeding Jason Chan, Nox, and Whit's videos. He will not be returning.


More info to come as the investigation continues.

[Jason Manley]

Teknoanimal Richard Gringras is now permanently banned from all conceptart.org related websites, educational programs and this community for downloading and seeding CA content, including works by Nox, Whit, and Chan.

rgingras.net

[Jason Manley]

conceptart.org member Serious Samm (samuel ubinas) is now permanently banned from all conceptart.org related websites, educational programs and this community for pirating CA content, including works by Nox, Whit, and Chan.

http://serioussamm.deviantart.com/

[Jason Manley]

Branko Bistrovic CA Member Rasdasa is permanently banned from the conceptart.org community and all future workshops, programs or other CA related matters for pirating Nox, Chan, and Whit's work one week ago.

More than five hundred posts and five years in this community too...

http://rasdasa.cgsociety.org/gallery/

[Jason Manley]

gautham_kuwabara is permanently banned from conceptart.org and all workshops, educational opportunities, and other matters affiliated with this site for pirating andrew jones fine art series.

http://dev.2draw.net/users/Gautham/

[Jason Manley]

CA Member jpgazza (Fernando Molinar) has been permanently banned for his piracy of andrew jones boss monster and also the thumbnail video. He is no longer welcome to participate in this community, nor attend the workshops, nor any other conceptart.org related matters.

www.fmolinari.com.ar

[Jason Manley]

CA Member VANILLALIMA has been permanently banned for his piracy of andrew jones work. He is no longer welcome to participate in this community, nor attend the workshops, nor any other conceptart.org related matters.

[Jason Manley]

Break time...must rest. Will be back in 2 days...
This will give people time to go in and remove all their videos they uploaded. When I come back I will be continuing with this process until it is cleaned up best as possible, and the torrenters realize there are consequences to their actions.

[Jason Manley]

Booleanspine aka Joey Barr is now permanently banned for torrenting conceptart.org content including Richard Doble's Creature Design. Joey will no longer be participating in this community, or the workshops or any other opportunities brought by conceptart.org.


http://forums.cgsociety.org/member.php?userid=274409
http://www.okcupid.com/profile/Inkedinclev

[Jason Manley]

As the question was raised, I shall address it.

NO INFORMATION POSTED IS PRIVATE. ONLY PUBLIC INFORMATION IS POSTED WITHIN THIS THREAD.

ConceptArt.Org is an industry media website, which reports on news of all kinds, including news related to piracy, and those who pirate the content in these videos. The pirates breaking international copyright law are warned in the videos, warned in the community and warned in individual posts that such behavior will not be tolerated.

ConceptArt.Org will continue to report on pirates until the torrents are removed from the illegal websites and the internet.

[Jason Manley]

Silverchild is now banned for violating artist rights and copyright law by illegally torrenting videos made by Coro and Jason Chan, and will no longer be participating in ConceptArt.Org related activities, educational programs, or the community. Neither will he have the opportunity to work for MB. He is done.

[Jason Manley]

Former CA member Cheshirsky is now banned for violating artist rights and copyright law by illegally torrenting videos made by Coro and Andrew Jones, and will no longer be participating in ConceptArt.Org related activities, educational programs, or the community. Neither will he have the opportunity to work for MB. He is done.

[Jason Manley]

Former CA member Sijen is now banned permanently along with all other privileges gone for torrenting Whit Brachna's downloads.

[Jason Manley]

Former CA member Wildcat is now banned for violating artist rights and copyright law by illegally torrenting videos made by Whit Brachna, and will no longer be participating in ConceptArt.Org related activities, educational programs, or the community. Neither will he have the opportunity to work for MB. He is done.

[Jason Manley]

Former CA member A WORKING CLASS HERO is now banned for violating artist rights and copyright law by illegally torrenting videos in bulk, and will no longer be participating in ConceptArt.Org related activities, educational programs, or the community. Neither will he have the opportunity to work for MB. He is done.
__________________

[Jason Manley]

So those who condone piracy know, I have a list now of nearly two hundred more to handle. I do not have time for this right now and will get to them as my schedule allows. The list grows every day as we deal with those who were stealing pirated content from this community of helpful artists. We have a robust anti-piracy system, of the most well thought out anywhere. As the guy who runs one of the worlds biggest anti-piracy efforts said to me. Jason you are the first I have heard of with all this in one place. As you can see from the public bannings, it works well too.

Thank you all for helping to put a stop to the piracy here. We cannot keep helping move education to the people, and away from the big private art schools who have hijacked it for their jets or greedy land grabs, without your support with these videos. They have done enough damage to art history already. Let's continue to do our best to keep information flowing at a price that covers the expenses of the community and production and the educational efforts we have as artists. Shall we?

Hope so. I really do not want to have to start doing these threads again.

[Jason Manley]

Former CA member BODERIK from Aukland NZ, is now banned for supporting and participating in the illegal pirating of ConceptArt.Org and TAD content supporting this community, and will no longer be participating in ConceptArt.Org related activities, educational programs, or the community. Neither will he have the opportunity to work for MB. He is done.


Those participating in the illegal pirating of this content risk serious legal action.


Jason Manley

[Jason Manley]

CA member NoBaX, is now banned for supporting and participating in the illegal pirating of ConceptArt.Org and TAD content supporting this community, and will no longer be participating in ConceptArt.Org related activities, educational programs, or the community. Neither will he have the opportunity to work for MB. He is done.


Those participating in the illegal pirating of this content risk serious legal action.


Jason Manley

[Jason Manley]

CA member NoBaX, is now banned for supporting and participating in the illegal pirating of ConceptArt.Org and TAD content supporting this community, and will no longer be participating in ConceptArt.Org related activities, educational programs, or the community. Neither will he have the opportunity to work for MB. He is done.


Those participating in the illegal pirating of this content risk serious legal action.


Jason Manley

[Jason Manley]

CA member Dubdope, is now banned for supporting and participating in the illegal pirating of ConceptArt.Org and TAD content supporting this community, and will no longer be participating in ConceptArt.Org related activities, educational programs, or the community. Neither will he have the opportunity to work for MB. He is done.


Those participating in the illegal pirating of this content risk serious legal action.


Jason Manley

[Jason Manley]

CA member Dacon, is now banned for supporting and participating in the illegal pirating of ConceptArt.Org and TAD content supporting this community, and will no longer be participating in ConceptArt.Org related activities, educational programs, or the community. Neither will he have the opportunity to work for MB. He is done.


Those participating in the illegal pirating of this content risk serious legal action.


Jason Manley

[Jason Manley]

CA member Enxa, is now banned for supporting and participating in the illegal pirating of ConceptArt.Org and TAD content supporting this community, and will no longer be participating in ConceptArt.Org related activities, educational programs, or the community. Neither will he have the opportunity to work for MB. He is done.


Those participating in the illegal pirating of this content risk serious legal action.


Jason Manley

[Jason Manley]

Alen Lapidis, professional games industry Artist who has worked at Blizzard and Sony has been pirating conceptart.org downloadable content created by Brad Rigney and Whit Brachna. This is some of the first piracy we have had in quite a while and so he has been turned over to ConceptArt.Org's legal firm and introduced to Brad so Mr. Rigney knows who has been stealing from his family and this community.

Alen will never participate here on ConceptArt.Org, nor it's events, programs, or work with companies I hold ownership in. His days here are done.

http://www.hs.facebook.com/alapidis#!/alapidis

[Jason Manley]

The following users have been determined to have participated in piracy of content from 3DTotal, whom is a partner of the ConceptArt.Org community supporting the international artists working in cg fields. 3DT and CA are working closely together and as such, no piracy will be tolerated.

5thsun
rampally
abdou3d
and
Vitek


They will no longer participate or have opportunity to participate in any CA, MB, 3DT or TAD related programs, jobs, or educational opportunities. It is a small industry and there are consequences that can alter careers, for stealing from the artists of these communities.