Last year I entered this...Contest thing. Best manga. The winner was supposed to get their manga published in some anime magazine I don't really remember...So yeah. I won. Woot, right? I gave out my information and everything while they were getting things together. So...Months go by...I figured nothing really happened. It was a school thing so I thought it was a bit stupid that I didn't at least get the manga back BEFORE the year ended. I know it's kind of dumb problem. My friend tells me that they're actually still working on publishing it. But they haven't told me about ANYTHING. They haven't even given me credit. I didn't have it copy written...I didn't back it up with anything...I sort of just gave it away. So I'm wondering...Can I still sue them for this? Even though they pretty much stole my stuff and claimed it as their own, I didn't do what was necessary to prevent that from happening. Which was stupid of me. And if it's still possible, then SHOULD I even try? I mean...It's coming from a few friends. Maybe they aren't publishing it. Maybe they sent it back. I wouldn't know anyways. I moved to another state. Makes my problem worse...I'm pretty much in the dark about it now...
Talk to them about it. If they do not acknowladge you, then you can talk sueing. A lawyer might be quit interested in your case also.
Of course you can.You were promised it would get published so it should get published and if it doesn't you have the right to atleast get the manga back.If not then they are taking someone elses idea's and didn't give you credit for it.That is just completely unfair.Ask your parents right.
As Rosey said. I think you need to talk things through with them, it could all be a misunderstanding, but if not... Talk to them about suing.
If they haven't used what you have sent them, then really you would have a hard time suing them. You would have to wait until they actually publish it and do not give you credit before you could do much in that regard. However, you can do a couple things here. Do you have a copy of your work that you sent to them? It sounds like you may not but I have a suggestion if you do. If you do, get an envelope and mail it from the post office to yourself. Then keep the envelope closed so that the post date on the envelope could be used in court as a 'poor man's copyright'. Court will uphold the date as long as the envelope is not opened and can be opened at court. This way if they try to publish it, you can show you had the work originally. You will want to do this very soon because the longer you wait, the harder it would be to prove the work is yours. If you don't have a copy of it, try doing some artwork showing your style of drawing and also write a sort of essay describing what the anime was about in as much detail as you can and then mail that to yourself. It may be something to help you at least though not as good as having the actual work. The next thing I'd suggest you do is try to see if you can get in contact with someone. If your friend is saying that they are working on it, how does he/she know? Is this friend in contact with these people? You may want to disregard him/her and actually try to get a hold of these people yourself and if you need assistance, talk to your parents, and maybe the sterner one of them could call for you to find out what is going on. It could be that your friend is right, but it doesn't hurt to check. If he/she is in contact, try asking for the number if you don't have it so that you may inquire as to the status of the project because you have heard nothing. I wish you luck in this and hope you can find out something. Hang in there.
Let me give you an example. The man who made the moving winsheild wiper tryed to sue Ford for stealing his idea, but he never had it copywritten. Therefore, you can try to sue them, but the legal system is a very complax thing. Sueing them is one thing, accomplishing the lawsuit is another. Personally, I think you could sue them, but it will be very difficult and expensive to hire a layerI'm getting into lot of technical terms so if you need help, please PM me.
Well about 2 years back I sent some Cheat Code to Tips & Tricks magazine, and it took months for them to put it in there magazine. They did not contact me once. But months before I sent in a similar letter to them, so it must of gotten lost in the mail, or they didn't care so who knows? The artwork may be lost in the mail and the magazine is angry at you... Well since it has not been published, you can not really sue them, because they didn't really publish your artwork and claim it as theirs..Unless they offered you a prize other than being in the magizine and they never sent it to you (Like if you win you get $50,000!!! and they never give it to you) One last thing to add, send them a letter asking them what happend, just do NOT talk about sueing them
You can still sue if you want. After all, there were a lot of people who entered, right? U should have penty of witnesses of people who can say that they know that u won >.>
If you're saying they haven't finished publishing it, how are they even supposed to give you credit on something which isn't even in existence...? I personally think you're jumping to conclusions. I'd say listen to Rosey - take the initiative to contact the crew or whatever to see what exactly it is they're doing. Otherwise do as Repliku says.
I really am not sure why people are telling you to go ahead and try to sue. It really is true we are 'sue happy' anymore. Until the facts are actually known and the material is used without giving credit or not used for a longer period of time, I don't see any case for suing at all. Anyway, hope things work out for you and you can get a hold of these people to see what is going on.
I do have a copy. I'll have to get my dad to send it back to me, which may be a little difficult. My friend has the teacher that helped organize the contest. I think it's a pretty good idea to get more information and contact them myself. Thanks for your help. =3 Okay. I understand what you mean. I think I'll just talk to them myself and figure out what's going on before getting into sueing them...
it's a bit too rash to be suing them so early on.try to talk to them and see whether it was really published, and/or whether they have the magizine. Then, if they refuse play the trump card (i.e suing them)
