A Letter from FarWorks, Inc. (The Far Side Incident) We here at the Iconfactory invite you to read the letter that we received on October 4th, 1997 from the parties that control the copyright to the "Far Side" by renowned comic artist, Gary Larson. If you would like to write to Mr. Nelson to voice your opinion, please do so and while your at it you can cc FarWorks (the copyright holders for the Far Side) at ToniCFWKSO@aol.com and Gedeon at gedeonm@aol.com. Although the issues talked about in both this and the DC Comics letter are considered by all of us "ancient history", we provide them here for you to read and ponder. This exchange gives an understanding of both sides of a valid argument. If you feel strongly enough on the subject to write the parties involved please don't letter bomb or spam. Please take the time to write a thoughtful and direct response to the issues. The legal issues with FarWorks have turned out to be much less flexible than those of DC Comics and it does not look like this will change any time soon. We're sorry to say that if you write to request these sets, we won't be able to send them to you. Dear Mr. Maheux: We represent Gary Larson and his company, FarWorks, Inc. It has recently come to our attention that you are offering two sets of computer screen icons under the name "The Far Side Icon Collection," consisting of more than seventy-five icons copied from Mr. Larson's artwork for The Far Side. This constitutes both copyright and trademark infringement and must be stopped immediately. We are aware of your disclaimer that these icons "are not intended as copyright infringement," but that begs the question. This type of use clearly is not "fair use" under Section 107 of the Copyright Act. It directly infringes the artist's and copyright owner's exclusive right to make derivative works from his original artwork under Section 106. To date, Mr. Larson has expressly chosen not to make his work available online, and his views on this matter have been widely publicized. Your unauthorized use of his work and the registered trademark The Far Side therefore causes damage in two respects: first, by creating the false and confusing impression that Mr. Larson has permitted and endorsed this use; and second, by usurping a potential future market for his work. Please notify us in writing as soon as both "volumes" of The Far Side Icon Collection have been removed from all websites and web pages under your control. If we do not receive such notification and written assurance that you and the Iconfactory will desist from all future uses of our clients' work, we may be forced to take more formal action. We sincerely hope this will not be necessary. Davis Wright Tremaine LLP 2600 Century Square 1501 Fourth Avenue Seattle, Washington 98101-1688 mjn Marshall J. Nelson (206) XXX-XXXX FAX XXX-XXXX xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx Gedeon's Reply: Dear Mr. Nelson, I received your letter regarding the posting of my "Far Side" icon collection and wanted to get back with you about your requests on the matter. First, I want you to know that I understand and respect Mr. Gary Larson's opinion of the treatment of his work as well as his wishes toward his creations. With this in mind I will be removing the two "Far Side" volumes from both The Iconfactory and my personal web site located on AOL within the next five days. I would like to add several thoughts to the matter however, and I hope you take these to heart instead of simply acting as the "Corporate Arm" of Universal Press and/or Gary Larson. I would like you to consider the point of view of the fan in situations such as these. I created the Far Side icons not as mere "copies", as you stated of Mr. Larson's work, indeed they were crafted *BY HAND* based on the characters of Gary Larson, but as free, fun software for Macintosh lovers to download and use on their personal computers. The sets were not created to generate revenue, steal advertising, deflect attention, spread misinformation or any other negative images of Mr. Larson or his work. They were created as a way to say "Thank-you" for making such a lovable and funny strip as the Far Side and for all the fans out there who admirer his work and wish him the best. Being a professional, I realize the importance of copyright and trademarks and as such I've agreed to remove the sets from the web sites which I have control over, namely The Iconfactory and my personal site. You should be aware however that these two sets have been in existence on the web for well over a year now and they have been distributed far and wide since that time. I want to make it clear that I cannot take responsibility for the numbers of icons that have been downloaded from the site and gone beyond my control. Conversely, there is an opportunity here for Universal Press and Mr. Larson to profit from these two sets. It would be possible to make these icons "official" and add promotional material to the accompanying read-me file with the icons that could point people to a web site or mention upcoming related media such as Mr. Larson's new TV Special. We reached a similar agreement with Aardman Animations of the UK, the owners of the popular Wallace and Gromit characters where fans of the series could download the icons both from the Iconfactory and from their UK homepage. These suggestions are offered as compromises in the hopes that my icons will not simply be "yanked" from public view. Whether you agree to any kind of compromise or not, I will remove the icons from the site in the time I've stated. You should also know however, that to be fair to the thousands of people that regularly visit The Iconfactory and download the icons free of charge, I will be posting your letter to me as an explanation as to why the sets were removed, as well as my reply. It is not fair to them, and it is unfair to me to simply pull the sets from the page without such an explanation. I owe the people who write to me every day to tell them why I've had to take the icons down. I hope you understand and are prepared for the feedback that will be coming. I look forward to your response and to the possibility of working something out that may be in both our best interests. Gedeon Maheux Digital Media Designer		Fill out our Feedback Form! Back to the Mailroom! Letter from DC Comics The Iconfactory gets lots of mail everyday, and the workers thought it would be nice to see what's being said about them. Both good and bad comments are welcome, and if the foreman likes your letter enough, he'll post it here! People write in all the time with requests and we're happy to get them. Subjects that are often requested are comic or funny book characters. We tend to shy away from these topics now, partly because of the two letters we've received on the subject. You can read them below and judge our decision for yourself.