Ukraine artist KuttySarkArt shared on Twitter that Riot Games sent out a DMCA takedown notice for one of her T-shirt designs. The message sent to her by TeePublic claims that the rightsholder has a “valid takedown request.” The DMCA stems from the T-shirt design being called “Arcane Flames” and Riot Games having a Netflix series called Arcane.
However, the design has nothing to do with Riot Games’ Arcane. The shirt design comes from KuttySarkArt’s creator-owned comic called Arcane Flames. She even points out how the shirt has a logo of her comic on it, which is different from Arcane’s logo.
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After sharing her situation online, people all over the internet came to her defense and have criticized Riot Games’ decision. Many have pointed out the hypocrisy of signaling out KuttSarkArt’s design when there are other unofficial merchandise based on Arcane throughout many different shopping outlets, in particular Etsy.
Riot Games has now responded to the controversy and has openly apologized for its decision. Riot Games recognize that the takedown was made in error and it will be actively reviewing what happened. KuttySarkArt thanks people on Twitter for their support, and she writes she will keep everyone informed for future updates.
Accident or not, this latest controversy continues to paint Riot Games in a bad light. The company has already had years of accusations for its sexist workplace and employee dissatisfaction. Back in December, the company had to pay $100 million in a gender-discrimination lawsuit.
