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Author Topic: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA  (Read 33780 times)

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Offline Elisto

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #30 on: May 22, 2012, 05:07:09 PM »
Out of curiosity, why wouldn't it be legally binding to go to the person directly? Also, I didn't think dA was really responsible for what their users post, but I don't actually know the details of how all that works. (You can pm me if this is too off topic...I really am curious!)

Offline Bergamot

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #31 on: May 22, 2012, 05:11:16 PM »
Elisto, you have the exact same questions that I do. It's strange, and part of me really wonders if somebody along the way is just looking for attention. Hmmmm...

EDIT:
Here's some more mention of that law firm in connection with Hasbro. Nothing terribly credible, but if this is a hoax, it's a darn elaborate one.

http://pastebin.com/n6684s6t
« Last Edit: May 22, 2012, 05:13:26 PM by Bergamot »

Offline Jenn77

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #32 on: May 22, 2012, 05:14:22 PM »
I feel bad for her,and I see where Hasbro is coming from. The thing is though what about the others that are making plushies among other things show related? I have seen crocheted ones, all different kinds of materials used to make show accurate ponies. Is Hasbro going to start on those people as well or was this person singled out because she made so much profit? Just curious, I know a little about how this works,but not everything.I mean would it have been different if she had explained that the designs of the pony wasn't hers that it was hasbro's just the creative work that she did was hers?
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Offline kamakazee82

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #33 on: May 22, 2012, 05:16:49 PM »
and yeah, not a derp moment Bergamot, there are a lot of parties involved in this one and we don't get to see the actual C&D letter from Hasbro, just DA's inquirey to whitedove and DA calls them "plushies" but i wouldn't doubt the legal team would call them plushies if that's what white dove is calling them ... plushie has become a very widespread term for a plush animal toy

as for marketing them as official hasbro products ... she was using hasbro characters to make hasbro characters and marketing them as "my little pony" items ... not "customs" or "ooak" of her OWN characters ...

customs are 90% original characters NOT created by hasbro and/or a character they no longer have control over or are "obviously" not a real hasbro production (a g1 character done on a g4 body for example) which is different thatn taking an existing hasbro controlled character and creating something to replicate it's likeness and make a TON of money on it ... it is trademark and copyright protected which means hasbro can sue your pants off if you make something of it's likeness and make money on it ...

hasbro can pick and choose their battles ... i think they chose this one as white dove is pretty high profile ... and they may even have been tipped off to white dove's existance by the high profile names attached to FiM BUYING her stuff and bragging about it's sheer awesomeness :(
 
 
 
 
ETA because a big firm contacting an individual person directly is a might intimidating and if they say the wrong thing the case is no longer good because the person can get off on a technicality ... think of the times when Miranda rights haven't been read and a very dangerous person has been able to walk away scott free because of it ... and as a corporation Hasbro is not a REAL PHYSICAL being and needs a person to act in their behalf, where a lawfirm comes in for legal matters, or a PR team for advertising, etc, and EVERYTHING has to be run through a legal team to be checked for any possible illegal claims/statements/images/etc they are going through their legal team because it's the safest and only legal thing thing to do ... like i couldn't walk up to you on the street and go "HEY! I OWNED THOSE PANTS BEFORE YOU AND I DIDN"T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO WEAR THEM TODAY TAKE THEM OFF NOW!" there is a protocol to these things ... just because someone doesn't understand them or why they exist doesn't mean the don't exist ...
« Last Edit: May 22, 2012, 05:22:08 PM by kamakazee82 »
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Offline lovesbabysquirmy

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #34 on: May 22, 2012, 05:19:51 PM »
Not surprising if she is getting THAT much exposure and profit off of making show characters, even IF they are more accurate to the animation.  They are still characters licensed to Hasbro. 

I imagine they don't bother going after others because their plushies don't LOOK like Hasbro's art.  People who make G1 plushies are also safe as Hasbro doesn't really have active copyright on those characters anymore, with the exception of a few.  ;)  Like Applejack!

But as soon as you start taking away from Hasbro's current market and start trying to profit from the marketing infrastructure they have created ... yeah...  you're going to get caught eventually by the C&D lawyers. 
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Offline Jenn77

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #35 on: May 22, 2012, 05:22:31 PM »
Ahh I see now..
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Offline Bergamot

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #36 on: May 22, 2012, 05:29:26 PM »
Hahah. "Plushie" still seems so colloquial to me! ;)

hasbro can pick and choose their battles ... i think they chose this one as white dove is pretty high profile ... and they may even have been tipped off to white dove's existance by the high profile names attached to FiM BUYING her stuff and bragging about it's sheer awesomeness :(

I think having a C&D sent at all is a big deal, and probably costs the company a silly amount of money as there's a law firm involved. I agree; it would make sense for Hasbro to pick a high-profile plush maker like this who's making a lot of money per plush to set an example.

I do not believe that anybody ratted this artist out, however. They are a very high visibility and high-yield plush maker, after all! It's not like the trade of custom MLP merchandise is totally underground; a quick Google search will turn up all kinds of artists.

Offline xeevee

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #37 on: May 22, 2012, 05:35:17 PM »
This seems extremely odd.  Hasbro have never given a crap before, why now?  Is it the money?  Its not like they have an alternative is it?  That money wasn't going to be spent on one of their plushies.  I feel there is something in this we're missing, but I don't know what.

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #38 on: May 22, 2012, 05:42:22 PM »
Quote
Someone turned me in. 

*eye roll* Yeah, someone 'turned you in'... when you take copyrighted characters, make TONS of money off property that is NOT yours, and do so publicly on a site where people run professional businesses selling art.... No one had to 'turn her in', any Hasbro employee can do a search and find plushies for sale!

It's about time Hasbro warned these people, I think. It's one thing to be a fan of a show, it's another thing entirely to run a business making hundreds/thousands/whatever of dollars off of property that does not belong to you.

Do you see the little (tm) next to characters' names on the MLP toys? Do you think that means nothing?


Oh and the people saying "It's okay to steal property because Hasbro won't make plushies, so the fans should be able to make them and sell them"...? If a company made a poor quality product, is it okay for another company to take that exact same product and make it better and sell it to people? NO. That is why copyright and patents exist. Because that is not okay to do in this country. There's no excuse that makes it okay to steal these character images and run a business with them.
It totally makes sense to me.  This kind of thing is a big deal.  You should not ever make something to copy after a character from a show by a company without permission if you plan to sell it. If you plan to keep it for yourself that is fine, but making money off of merchandise with names and the look of stuff created by a company really is not the right thing to do.  Its nice that they send a note and don't just send people to court and fine them lots of money for infringement issues.  It could be so much worse so, I am glad that they are willing to go the nice route first.  Some companies would see nothing in taking a person to the cleaners for doing this innocently ..not realizing it was wrong.
 
There is a bigger issue here to me and that is not that one is caught and so they have to stop...but the realization that this is a law and the company has every right to protect their line, their names and their characters.  Its no different than copying a poem from a book and claiming it as your own.  Its really the same thing.  It shouldn't be done...not ever..and not just because you get caught..because its against copyright laws.

This type of attitude makes me a sad panda. When you start siding with the corporations, you start to lose your soul.

Iris Patch

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #39 on: May 22, 2012, 05:45:03 PM »
Quote
Someone turned me in. 

*eye roll* Yeah, someone 'turned you in'... when you take copyrighted characters, make TONS of money off property that is NOT yours, and do so publicly on a site where people run professional businesses selling art.... No one had to 'turn her in', any Hasbro employee can do a search and find plushies for sale!

It's about time Hasbro warned these people, I think. It's one thing to be a fan of a show, it's another thing entirely to run a business making hundreds/thousands/whatever of dollars off of property that does not belong to you.

Do you see the little (tm) next to characters' names on the MLP toys? Do you think that means nothing?


Oh and the people saying "It's okay to steal property because Hasbro won't make plushies, so the fans should be able to make them and sell them"...? If a company made a poor quality product, is it okay for another company to take that exact same product and make it better and sell it to people? NO. That is why copyright and patents exist. Because that is not okay to do in this country. There's no excuse that makes it okay to steal these character images and run a business with them.
It totally makes sense to me.  This kind of thing is a big deal.  You should not ever make something to copy after a character from a show by a company without permission if you plan to sell it. If you plan to keep it for yourself that is fine, but making money off of merchandise with names and the look of stuff created by a company really is not the right thing to do.  Its nice that they send a note and don't just send people to court and fine them lots of money for infringement issues.  It could be so much worse so, I am glad that they are willing to go the nice route first.  Some companies would see nothing in taking a person to the cleaners for doing this innocently ..not realizing it was wrong.
 
There is a bigger issue here to me and that is not that one is caught and so they have to stop...but the realization that this is a law and the company has every right to protect their line, their names and their characters.  Its no different than copying a poem from a book and claiming it as your own.  Its really the same thing.  It shouldn't be done...not ever..and not just because you get caught..because its against copyright laws.

This type of attitude makes me a sad panda. When you start siding with the corporations, you start to lose your soul.


:( Corporations are made up of real people with souls and feelings and families. This isn't a black and white issue. It isn't US against THEM. Both sides have value, neither side is some evil demon out to make the other side miserable.
A company has to protect its assets, an artist has to pay the bills.

Stuntmang

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #40 on: May 22, 2012, 05:48:52 PM »
Quote
Someone turned me in. 

*eye roll* Yeah, someone 'turned you in'... when you take copyrighted characters, make TONS of money off property that is NOT yours, and do so publicly on a site where people run professional businesses selling art.... No one had to 'turn her in', any Hasbro employee can do a search and find plushies for sale!

It's about time Hasbro warned these people, I think. It's one thing to be a fan of a show, it's another thing entirely to run a business making hundreds/thousands/whatever of dollars off of property that does not belong to you.

Do you see the little (tm) next to characters' names on the MLP toys? Do you think that means nothing?


Oh and the people saying "It's okay to steal property because Hasbro won't make plushies, so the fans should be able to make them and sell them"...? If a company made a poor quality product, is it okay for another company to take that exact same product and make it better and sell it to people? NO. That is why copyright and patents exist. Because that is not okay to do in this country. There's no excuse that makes it okay to steal these character images and run a business with them.
It totally makes sense to me.  This kind of thing is a big deal.  You should not ever make something to copy after a character from a show by a company without permission if you plan to sell it. If you plan to keep it for yourself that is fine, but making money off of merchandise with names and the look of stuff created by a company really is not the right thing to do.  Its nice that they send a note and don't just send people to court and fine them lots of money for infringement issues.  It could be so much worse so, I am glad that they are willing to go the nice route first.  Some companies would see nothing in taking a person to the cleaners for doing this innocently ..not realizing it was wrong.
 
There is a bigger issue here to me and that is not that one is caught and so they have to stop...but the realization that this is a law and the company has every right to protect their line, their names and their characters.  Its no different than copying a poem from a book and claiming it as your own.  Its really the same thing.  It shouldn't be done...not ever..and not just because you get caught..because its against copyright laws.

This type of attitude makes me a sad panda. When you start siding with the corporations, you start to lose your soul.


 :( Corporations are made up of real people with souls and feelings and families. This isn't a black and white issue. It isn't US against THEM. Both sides have value, neither side is some evil demon out to make the other side miserable.
A company has to protect its assets, an artist has to pay the bills.
Who is losing money from the production of these plushies?

Offline Al-1701

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #41 on: May 22, 2012, 05:49:19 PM »
I'm still confused about the letter.  Going back to the law firm thing, large companies like Hasbro tend to have their own legal team, not retaining an outside law firm.  I could be wrong about Hasbro, but I grew up in a General Motors family and if we needed a lawyer we turned to GM Legal.  Also, I would think they would have sent the C&D straight to her, not Deviantart.  Because it's not directed to her, she's not legally bound to follow it.  They would have to go through the added expense to send her one.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2012, 05:51:05 PM by Al-1701 »
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Offline Malicieuse

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #42 on: May 22, 2012, 05:53:26 PM »
This type of attitude makes me a sad panda. When you start siding with the corporations, you start to lose your soul.

Yeah, people/companies who wish to protect or keep control of their own creations are so mean. : P
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Stuntmang

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #43 on: May 22, 2012, 05:54:14 PM »
This type of attitude makes me a sad panda. When you start siding with the corporations, you start to lose your soul.

Yeah, people/companies who wish to protect or keep control of their own creations are so mean. : P
Again, who is losing money from the production of these plushies?

Iris Patch

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Re: Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA
« Reply #44 on: May 22, 2012, 05:57:30 PM »
This type of attitude makes me a sad panda. When you start siding with the corporations, you start to lose your soul.

Yeah, people/companies who wish to protect or keep control of their own creations are so mean. : P
Again, who is losing money from the production of these plushies?


When a company does not actively enforce their copyright, they will lose it, which means they could lose EVERYTHING. And that would be bad for all of us!

 

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