TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese artist residing in Edinburgh, Scotland, took to Facebook on Aug. 10 to express his displeasure at the lack of respect for intellectual property in Taiwan, using an image created by the Dahan Institute of Technology (大漢技術學院) from an unauthorized version of his work.

Yosifu (優席夫), who comes from an Amis village in Hualien County, made a name for himself with his vibrant, colorful artwork spotlighting Indigenous characters and symbolism. He debuted as an artist at the Edinburgh International Festival (Fringe), and his work has since been featured on the New York subway and various locations in Taiwan, including the Taoyuan International Airport.

However, the popularity of his art came with an unpleasant side effect, according to Yosifu. In the past three years alone, he has heard about eight instances of his work being used without permission, and more than half of the culprits were either Taiwanese governmental agencies or educational institutions.

In his Facebook post, he said that he is still pursuing legal procedures against the Keelung City Government, as it infringed upon his intellectual property rights last year.

On top of the lack of sincerity in the city government’s apology, Yosifu was hurt by the fact that it had used the stolen image in a restroom, reported UDN.

In an interview with the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation’s TITV, Yosifu said the first thing he looks at in these situations is the offender’s attitude. “If this person is sincerely apologizing and intends to change, why wouldn’t you give the person a chance?” he remarked.

Yosifu expressed his concern about the general lack of respect for artists’ rights, as well as his deep disappointment in education on intellectual property rights in Taiwan. He added in his Facebook post: “Love shown for my work should bring happiness, but taking without informing makes you a thief! At least do me the courtesy of letting me know!”