Help Hannah Lynn Battle Legal Threats from DAC

I can’t begin to express how difficult this has been for me, and just how much courage it has taken me to do this. I did everything I could to diffuse the situation, but it’s gotten to the point where this is no longer just about me. This is bigger than me. If ever there was a hill I was willing to die on, this is the one. If it means I end up PENNILESS fighting this in civil court and subsequently have to scrub toilets in a chicken suit to pay my bills, so be it.

A previous diamond painting kit company I licensed my artwork with, Diamond Art Club (DAC), has been threatening to sue me, with absolutely OUTRAGEOUS claims that the exclusivity clause is NOT limited to the term of the contract (which was terminated by DAC in January and officially expired April 2024) for the licensing rights to ALL of my artworks in the ENTIRE FIELD of diamond painting (and that I am in breach of contract for since licensing my work to other diamond painting companies even though I have documented emails of their discussing my moving on and signing with others) AND claiming ownership over my derivative copyrights, which they contractually agreed not to do (it wasn't a sale or purchase agreement, it was a Limited License Agreement for 3 years which clearly states under Ownership of Artwork: "Licensee agrees that it will not claim any intellectual ownership rights to the Artwork, or any derivative, compilation thereof, unless such rights are granted to Licensee by Licensor"), AFTER THEY clearly terminated our agreement and retired all my kits—with all these claims being presented MONTHS AFTER THE CONTRACT HAS ENDED, AND -ONLY AFTER- I HAD ALREADY SIGNED ON WITH MULTIPLE OTHER DIAMOND PAINTING COMPANIES—docs available for review HERE .

If your jaw is on the floor right now, or you just spit out whatever was in your mouth…just IMAGINE how I feel. I’m just as DUMBFOUNDED as you are, even reading it back. It doesn’t seem real; I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and it’s all been a nightmare, but it’s the truth, and there’s power in it. FOR ME, NOT THEM. I refuse to suffer in silence or protect them from their egregious behavior. I WILL NOT BE THREATENED LIKE THIS BY ANYONE.

There is obviously a lot more background to what led to this point—but in the interest of time and letting the truth speak for itself, I've added a few relevant documents below for review. I was emailed unprovoked multiple times from DAC about different things starting a few weeks ago (when I finally started releasing new kits after not being able to make an income on diamond painting for most of this year due to the transition)--I was accused of theft by way of infringing on "THEIR" copyrights (charted designs of MY artwork), defamation (which is telling lies, not the truth), and breach of contract; called unethical and dishonest, and threatened with litigation multiple times.

I retained legal counsel and had them read over all the contract and other communications to send a response on my behalf, because I had gone as far as I could go on my own. The contract is clear. Just because DAC doesn't like it, it doesn’t change the laws, or the terms of the agreement, nor does it give them the right to harass me, accuse me of things I didn't do, and threaten me! THIS ABSOLUTELY CANNOT STAND in the realm of copyrights and serves to set an extremely dangerous precedent in the licensing industry for ALL ARTISTS—as does claiming unfounded extensions of provisions outside of a clearly defined, and clearly expired, contract.

I was not happy with our business relationship while I was with them for a lot of reasons, and have had my share of disputes with them. Yet I always remained cordial in communications with them and on social media, and never, ever spoke about their terrible behavior or the way I felt publicly on my page or on Reddit, even after our contract expired. Why? Because I wanted to put these last couple years behind me of losing an unquantifiable amount of income from this restrictive contract (that I had signed, I accepted that for those 3 years and learned my lesson) and MOVE ON, and I didn't want Diamond Painting fans to feel bad for using their kits if they change their perception of DAC (I still don't)—Fans spent a lot of hard-earned money on their Hannah Lynn kits and they are going to be working on them for years to come—and I deserve to have my page and career be about my art, not business drama!

Had I known that ANY of this was a possibility with this company, I NEVER WOULD HAVE SIGNED to license my works for their use in the first place. Why would I risk that? I've created a portfolio of copyrights with my bare hands over nearly 20 YEARS of hard work and sacrifices to build and promote my brand. As most artists have, I've put up with a lot of garbage over the years. NO ONE should have to deal with this type of business relationship and litigious bullying. There’s fair competition, and even valid business disputes, but this is not that.

I’d rather sell everything I own and live in a DUMPSTER before tolerating this harassment and intimidation from ANYONE. I don’t care how “big” they are, I’m absolutely DONE being treated like a doormat. They MAY be able to take my money by way of legal fees, but never my dignity, or my voice. THEY cancelled my contract (because I refused the exclusivity moving forward which was “required” by them WITHOUT a royalty advance or additional compensation, among other failed negotiation topics) and then RETIRED all my kits! Exclusivity (which prevented me from signing with any other diamond painting companies even if DAC didn't want to put all of my artworks into production, which they didn't), along with their FOMO marketing model (in which kits would sell out within minutes of release then remain out of stock for months on end) created large secondary and black markets, which competed directly with my ability to earn appropriate royalties in this industry and serve my fans effectively. I just couldn't justify it based on our history together, so I offered to work together on an image-exclusive basis (which is how 99% of licensing companies do it where you're still allowed to license other images in your portfolio to other companies at the same time in the same industry for the same product!), and I was told it was a non-negotiable. They did not create, nor do they own, the industry of diamond painting; and these charts are based SO closely on cross-stitch charts (which have been around for decades and I have licensed for over 15 years and have already had most, if not all, of these same artworks also charted as cross stitch charts, some before I even signed with DAC). They had made their sales, didn't want to sell my kits anymore, retired them, and then let me go--or so I thought! Is this all just to purposely interrupt a considerable source of my income…the one I earn to feed my family!?! I'm not a big company I'M A HUMAN ARTIST. I will NEVER understand how someone could be so CRUEL. I am just SICK over this. LITERALLY. I’m losing massive amounts of sleep, and now weight from not eating properly and being nauseous all day, struggling terribly with major anxiety and panic attacks, my autoimmune arthritis is flaring, and I’m NOT OK.

I provided multiple opportunities for DAC to walk away and leave me alone, and they've now got me backed into a corner. This has been affecting my health both physically and mentally, my family, my life’s work, my time, and stands to be a potential threat to OTHER artists’ copyrights and well-being who may consider signing their art for licensed use with this business, one they claim to be so supportive of licensed artists! I WILL NOT BE SILENCED with threats of "confidential protection" or accusations of slander/libel/defamation; if people end up feeling differently about DAC after reading truthful reports of their business dealings, then DAC damaged their OWN reputation with their abhorrent actions, and my calling them out on those actions is not only perfectly legal, but just. Any challenges or losses suffered by their company resulting from this can only be attributed to their own choices and actions.

The letter from their legal counsel dated July 3, 2024 in response to the one my lawyer sent on July 1, 2024 (view doc HERE ) sets a deadline of July 10, 2024 to come to an "informal resolution" (whatever that means, I'm not talking to anyone at their company) which states: "If the parties cannot reach an agreement informally DAC will have no choice but to move forward with a formal action." It was also stated in previous emails before it even got to lawyers that they would have no choice but to pursue legal action, and that continuing to infringe on "their rights" would "definitely lead to litigation", but they would "prefer" to work things out without having to pay for expensive lawyers. I'm sure they would.

I've already spent $1,000 in legal fees and countless hours of my life that I will never get back either on the phone dealing with legal counsel, researching, or taking extra mental and physical health time out over the last month this has been going on, and it's really affected my production schedule as well, which has resulted in further lost income. The counsel I paid for was a short term thing and was local to my area, but seeing as how DAC is getting ready to file suit against me, I need to put a new one on retainer as soon as possible in California where they are located and start the process of catching them up (more hours, more emails, more phone calls that have nothing to do with art!). Lawsuits are expensive and I JUST started getting my income back on track after a challenging year of dealing with this transition among so many other things! My losses are already in the thousands of dollars at this point, and if their threats of potential substantial financial judgement including their attorney fees and costs prevail, and I lose the rights to license my work for diamond paintings, and continue to lose more income, there will not likely be any Hannah Lynn diamond paintings or Hannah Lynn Art AT ALL.

I HUMBLY ask my fans, and anyone who takes a common interest in protecting the copyrights of Artists, for help with legal fees as I've run out of time and patience. I feel like the only option left is to fight this, with my incredible husband and family right by my side, as I know so many of my amazing fans will be. Anything you can do to donate will be GREATLY appreciated--and if there are excess donations that didn't go to my own legal fees, they will go to other Artists who are in need of legal fees for similar cases (case by case at my discretion), or a charity of my choosing.

Other ways you can support my art: Hannah Lynn Coloring Books on Amazon , Patreon , HannahLynn.com, Hannah Lynn Art on Etsy , Art & Soul Diamond Paintings

NOTICE: ANY COMMENTS OR COMMUNICATION FROM DAC, THEIR EMPLOYEES, OR ADMINS WILL BE CONSIDERED HARASSMENT and saved for my records.

Please understand I may be "offline" for a while due to all of this, which will help with my mental health, but I'm still going to be working--getting diamond paintings into production, making new art, working on my upcoming Pets coloring book, and releasing Patreon content (and answering customer emails) as best I can considering the situation and my health!

Thank you to all my fans, YOU are the reason I keep going! Hannah