~ Michiko.com ~

BimBionic Industries - Brand building through mischievous character design

Seattle, WA

Past design clients include MTV, Playstation, Sony Pictures, Britney Spears, Steve Madden Shoes, Hasbro, Lego, Simon & Schuster, Hyperion Books, Coca Cola and Tokyo's Yellow Boots clothing line. Currently transitioning over into a new phase (and would love your help! :) of marketing my immense library of existing copyright-registered characters and trademarks onto new high-end and novelty-goth retail products and event promotions, with the goal of developing new income streams for myself and my promotion/affiliate team (that'd be you!) whether by placements as guest stars on product lines (cosmetics, entertainment, DIY solar, shoes, fashion, hair salons, t-shirts, lingerie, etc.), tran...
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What am I working on? view all

Anyone interested in talking Orphan Works and copyright while I'm in your town(s), I'm all ears too! Let's brainstorm?

updated: October 15, 2009 - 10:24pm

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Photos view all

Stilettina Annika Blue Girl - this image was the subject of a controversial copyright infringement case when Camel cigarettes used it in a full-page newspaper ad campaign without permission, just momths after they were forbidden from using cartoon characters in their advertising after the Joe Camel lawsuit that resulted in the Master Settlement Agreement with several states' Attorneys General. The Blue Girl image was later redeemed through positive use in health and anti-smoking awareness campaigns such as for Seattle's Public Health Department, Honolulu's Department of Health, the American Lung Association and the Clear the Smoke campaign, culminating in a presentation at the national conference in Washington, D.C. The image is now a prominent identifier in the artists' and authors' fight against Congress's upcoming passage of the controversial and harmful Shawn Bentley "Orphan Works" bill which may be designed to strip creators of their copyrights and surreptitiously release the work of living artists into the public domain through a legal loophole. Such a bill likely violates international intellectual property treaties with other countries and would create chaos in world trade markets, yet Congress continues to consider passage of this harmful bill despite over 80 international arts and authors organizations sending in written protests of it. The passage of such a harmfully written bill (pushed hard by lobbysissts who stand to benefit from the remarketing of seized public domain original artwork and authored works) will likely put millions of small businesses out of commission at the exact time when the government is trying to stimulate the growth of small business to help rebuild the U.S. economy through this tax base. Do you enjoy owning and controlling how others use or don't use your creative work? Your writing, your drawings, your photography, your photos of your family? If suddenly your work became public domain for anyone to steal, and a new law made that legal so it is no longer stealing (yet violates international treaties the U.S. has with other countries who wish to protect their work from such theft, but once it crosses over into U.S. borders, even if by internet, such copyrights would be lost....?)...well, despite none of us wanting to get overly politically involved - phew! too busy! - doesn't this seem like one worth fighting, especially if only by helping get the word out to the press and Congress ASAP? Thank you for your help. For more information on how to oppose this bill with simple 'Click & Send' petitions that you can customize yourself (or use the provided suggested text) please get on the list at http://www.illustratorspartnership.org for regular updates when Congress goes to make its next move on considering the passage of this bill. Thank you for your interest and any assistance getting this to the news media to help spread the word about this quietly raging international controversy - thank you! "Boots" Previously seen on the cover of Ms. Sandra Ann Miller's humorous guidebook, "The Sassy Guide to Getting Over Him" available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. (This image is part of the BimBionic ~ Perfect Girls for an Imperfect World® series of characters available for use on your t-shirts, cosmetics packaging, fashion line and events, retail products for sale) Cat (silhouette) Annika (closeup) Cowgirl - originally commissioned by PolyGram Records for their South by Southwest backstage events. Later developed into t-shirts, posters, and other product lines.