Everyone by now has heard of hot topic right? 

That hippie dippy store that caters to today's fads. 

Well it's not so happy when they're making a profit off our fan art or original works. 



This is not the first time Hot Topic has been under fire for their art theft. They've stolen designs from several artists before. 

This work was originally designed by rismo who even acknowledged that they never sold their rights to the fan image. 






This is why I watermark my fan works. To keep companies like Hot Topic from stealing my designs and fan works. Watermarks stops companies from taking our designs and making a profit off it. Watermarks may be ugly, but they're useful in keeping us out of the courts with law suits on these types of companies. 

In a way, watermarks are a safety net. So shut up about how watermarks are ugly. They keep us hard working artists out of financial trouble.

Update: 

deviantART cannot sell our works to companies like welikefine or Hot Topic without our written consent. This was a case where the designers who work under Hot Topic's pay roll got lazy and decided to slap a fan work on a shirt.