TurboSquid stealing money

[fael097]

Hi, i just opened this thread to share my frustration with turbosquid.
I was checking my TS reports, like i do everyday, and noticed a ticket that TS support opened to contact me, saying that i had a copyright infraction on a product. very well, i answered asking what product, so i could do something about it, like defend myself and prove that the product was mine, but the only answer i got was this
We have the right to decide who is eligible to conduct business on our site and who is not. We have made the decision that your account with not be re-opened.
There are other venues in the 3-D Marketplace where you can post.
We ask that you not continue to open tickets on this matter.
and they never told me what have i done.
funny thing, that happened like 5 days before i was about to receive almost a hundred dollars, when my sales were increasing more than 100%, and i was about to become a silver member. got banned for no reason at all, and obviously i didn't get my money.
doesn't it looks suspicious? and TS is Autodesk's official source huh... lame...
despite of that, 55% cut for new members is a rip off. that's stealing, and i would sure sue them if i was in the US.
here's a picture of the ticket:
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/2261/turbom.jpg
and here's turbosquid lying they paid me:
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8189/payxy.jpg

[bclark22]

Wow.. that's pretty crazy but I don't think they did it for no reason still...

Did you put up a model that included an HDRI image from some dvd or other website? Used any textures from any other websites? There must be something they are looking at that clearly shows you took some idea/work from another place.

I do agree that it is weird and screwed up that they won't tell you specifically what you did, if you took them to court over it they would have to show evidence I'm sure, but that costs money and is probably not even worth pursuing unless you know 100% that you are correct. It also would not be worth it because they reserve the right to ban your account no matter what, that was most likely in their terms of services agreement when you first signed up for the account.

[Sathe]

Turbosquid- Where models go to die

[fael097]

Wow.. that's pretty crazy but I don't think they did it for no reason still...

Did you put up a model that included an HDRI image from some dvd or other website? Used any textures from any other websites? There must be something they are looking at that clearly shows you took some idea/work from another place.

I do agree that it is weird and screwed up that they won't tell you specifically what you did, if you took them to court over it they would have to show evidence I'm sure, but that costs money and is probably not even worth pursuing unless you know 100% that you are correct. It also would not be worth it because they reserve the right to ban your account no matter what, that was most likely in their terms of services agreement when you first signed up for the account.

you're right, and that's why i want them to tell me exactly what happened, becoz i'm 100% sure i created everything from scratch.

[Perversonality]

Even if you created everything from scratch there's no guarentees that you haven't created something that is a part of someone else's IP. Best bet is to pressure them to tell you exactly what they have been asked to remove; remember here that they have been asked to remove it by a third party and the third party is the one who invoked the DMCA. If they fail to provide you with that information then TS are in violation of the DMCA, so use that as a bargaining chip to get the information from them. For them to remove everything suggests that either they have gone too far (only one item under dispute and they have removed everything) or alternatively the person who has made the claim is claiming that all of your meshes are their IP, in which case you should immediately counter claim if you have proof that the meshes you posted are your meshes and the content is not held under another's IP (Star Trek ships are under the Paramount IP regardless of whether they are your own design for example)

[Perversonality]

Looking at their final response they say that the items are listed above. If they aren't then you need to press them on which items. That's the key to the problem and its resolution

[fael097]

Looking at their final response they say that the items are listed above. If they aren't then you need to press them on which items. That's the key to the problem and its resolution

exactly, they said the items were listed, but they're not. and they just removed all my items. and i've been trying to pressure them since then, but they hang up on me on live chat all the time, and whenever i open a support ticket, they close it the moment they read. so its pretty much impossible to talk to them, thats why i say they're stealing.

[Crispy4004]

Turbo Squid is pyramid scheme. People buy into the idea that there's $$$ to be made and use that as an excuse to pump out meaningless junk that earns someone less talented cash.

All paid artwork is ultimately product, but ask yourself, "are you more of a service provider or a content provider?" If content is your answer, stay clear from the wholesale market that is Turbosquid. Respect your artwork for what it is intended to be.

[mbousquet]

Hi,

This is Michele from TurboSquid. Hopefully I can clarify some things about this situation.

The member in question was detected trying to distribute a large collection of another artist’s work on a public forum. TurboSquid has a clear policy for illegal activity like this--it results in instant suspension. This member has been given clear information about why he was suspended, which he has chosen not to post here.

TurboSquid takes illegal distribution of 3D models very seriously. We can’t prevent each and every theft across the Internet, but we can enforce our own policies with regard to our members.

It’s my hope that the 3D artists on this forum will appreciate the steps we've taken to safeguard the 3D marketplace.

Michele Bousquet
TurboSquid

[Perversonality]

Thanks for posting Michele :)

[dFecTd]

wow that sucks dude,
but maybe you did copyright without knowing so,
although they shouldn't have had banned you without giving you the proper reason and the exact model that you used without permission