Update:
Riot Games has apologised for the "error" leading to the takedown notice that was sent to an artist that used the word "arcane" in their artwork from 2018.
The original article follows below.
Riot Games is in the spotlight following a conflict with a digital artist who has uses the word "arcane" for the title of one of their designs. Arcane is of course the name of the Netflix show set in the universe of League of Legends, and it's also a word used generally to mean "known or knowable only to a few people." The company has issued a takedown notice to the artist as they are apparently infringing on its intellectual property, and so the artist is defending themselves and their artwork on social media for support against this claim.
Regrettably, this not the only controversy that Riot Games has garnered in recent memory as it was the subject of a report investigating the deplorable sexism and harassment in its offices in 2018. Taking to Twitter, KuttySarkArt explained what has happened to their art and how they believe reaching as many people as possible with this story is their best chance to request Riot Games rescind the takedown notice. "I'm just some girl from Ukraine and have no voice if such a big company as Riot Games claims that my work belongs to them, even if all facts prove them wrong," they said, adding screenshots of merchandise for their own Arcane Flames comic and the email they got from TeePublic.
Arcane is actually a very enjoyable and entertaining show even if you aren't familiar with the MOBA it is based on. Check out the trailer below!
Evidently, TeePublic is passing along the message it got from Riot Games and asked KuttySarkArt to remove the design that apparently uses material from the "rightsholder". However, the artwork itself was created in 2018, relates to their own comic that was started in 2019, and features a logo for that specific comic. Arcane took six years for Fortiche and Riot Games to bring into being, so if the company did have an issue with Arcane Flames, it should have acted sooner than it did. It's possible that KuttySarkArt is not the only artist that has gotten this email if Riot Games has used a blanket approach to anything that uses the word "arcane" in its description.
When the artist tried to understand why they had received the takedown notice, TeePublic replied that it is "unable to reinstate the design because it was a DMCA claim from Riot Games." Appreciably, KuttySarkArt was unhappy as they consider they are the one who has had their "intellectual property and rights violated." There's a lot of support on the side of the artist at the moment so we'll have to see what Riot Games has to say in response.
Featured Image Credit: kuttysarkart via Twitter, NetflixTopics: Riot Games, Netflix, League Of Legends