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On the advice of attorneys representing DS Art, and firm in our belief that
we are fully protected by the rights and privileges embodied in the First
Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, we have decided
to reinstate our beloved Bugs® to this web site.
Free speech and fair use are becoming endangered species in our culture, and our
freedoms are being attacked at every turn, at home and abroad. At this writing,
a bill is being considered in the United States Senate that would outlaw the
creative use of any trademarked commercial image, unless it comments directly on
the trademark holder.
In other words, it may soon be illegal for you – or anyone – to paint a picture
of flowers in a trademarked soda bottle, unless you’re trying to make a
political statement about the bottling company. Now, that’s just silly.
We don’t want to make any negative statements about Volkswagen of America, or
their products. (It appears to us that they are doing a good enough job of that
without our help!) We have made many attempts to negotiate with the company,
offering quiet alternative solutions to their demand that these pictures be
destroyed. Our requests have been ignored, and their threats of litigation
persist.
We most certainly appreciate the genuine interest, the worldwide attention, and
the overwhelming outpouring of support that these little pictures have generated
in recent weeks. The drawings that appear on this web site are meant to bring
smiles to the faces of all who view them, to warm hearts and minds, and to
engender positive feelings for the art and its subject matter. Our continued
desire at DS Art is to present ourselves as responsible corporate and community
citizens, and to present our work and all of its associations in as positive a
light as possible. In this effort, we believe we have served our culture and our
customers well for more than twenty years.
Insofar as we are allowed to do so, we intend to continue offering all of our
pictures to a generous public. The Bug®s especially deserve to be seen and
enjoyed, given that their days may well be numbered, and their existence as an
artistic species may be truly endangered. For this reason we will be including a
signed, open edition VW® Bug® print with each and every individual order that is
placed through our web site, at no extra cost, as a token of our gratitude for
your patronage. This offer will continue until all of our current stock of
entomological Bug®s have crawled away, or until the heavy hand of frivolous
litigation descends upon us.
We (and now our attorneys) thank you for your continued support.
DS Art is not affiliated with Volkswagen of America, Inc., or Volkswagen AG, in
any way or form. Likenesses, shapes or outlines of branded items that may appear
in the drawings on this web site are registered trademarks of their respective
owners.
The Beetle® shape and words VW®, Bug®, or any other trademark owned by
Volkswagen of America or Volkswagen AG are used solely for descriptive and
informational purposes.
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