Putting this here for posterity. As of the moment of writing, I'm pretty much over it now, but sometimes I still get hit with moments of slight rage. Anyways, here's what happened.
A really good friend of mine (and a member of the Ifugao) sent me a photo and clued me in that my artwork was being used this way. On a fecking GOLF TROPHY.
(Translation: "Do you know how to chop wood? Yes! Then you also know how to golf."
Welp, of course I was DAMN pissed off at this. I probably wouldn't have minded as much if the graphic was used in a relevant cultural event, but fecking GOLF??? Elitist POSs.....
My friend snooped around and found out that the Immipu-Golfers are a bunch of Ifugao golfers who are probably in the military (I am also not a fan of the military).
I have a lawyer to help me out with incidents like this (she advises me on contracts and copyright, etc), and she informed me she will look more into the golf club. Apparently, these guys have already made banners and shirts with the artwork.
I just really want to punch this guy in his smug face.
Here is is congratulating a fellow member for their new "logo". FECK YOU.
Take note of them defacing the artwork by putting a golf club in there and editing the feathers.
My friend messaged her cousin, who is connected in some way with this Gie Dimog and informed him of his group's art theft
And their reply was... basically "oh we didn't know it was art theft!"
I definitely did not like that "we should bring it up next session" bullshit.
I guess they got people messaging them or whatever, since I posted it up on my Facebook. It soothed my anger quite a bit to have other people angry on my behalf. These guys put their Facebook accounts on private and reached out to me in the end.
NOT a very good apology, still pisses me off.
In the end, they just ended up ignoring me and my lawyer. So I guess only in the Philippines is this a thing.
And here's some more condescending buillshit from this asshole!
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[DEEP BREATH]
Unfortunately, my lawyer has informed me, that the most we can do is send the a cease & desist, but since they have taken down the banners (I have no idea what they did with the trophies) we can't sue them because they have claimed ignorance to copyright law or some BS like that.
So there we go. Peace, except to those fuckers.