David Rees, the comic creator behind the “Get Your War On” series, has declared war on Jamba Juice this week after the company appeared to copy his style in an ad campaign–publicizing the copyfight with John Hodgman and his Twitter friends.
However, unlike J.D. Salinger suing to block an unauthorized sequel, Rees has a different problem: his distinctive work depends on public domain clip art, so it’s hard to find a legal remedy. One reader laid out the problem: “You’ve made it clear you don’t want to sue anyone, and that’s because you can’t. If you want to get pissed off, save it for a time when you learn how to draw and are actually protecting original work…You should be flattered.”
The author responded: “I’ve got nothing but love for … any of the other 10,000 webcomics that use the same Dover clip art I use. But the Jarmbur Juice ad campaign looks so totally, exactly like GYWO that I feel they crossed some kind of line.”