Hasbro is going after a pony plushie maker on DA

[PetiteTiger]

MLP is Hasbro's IP, they have every right to crack down on these sorts of things however they see fit; be it turning a blind eye or doing something like this.  It might not seem like they're losing any money off this, but this is still a case of someone making a LOT of money off their IP.

Yeah, it sucks.  I'd be upset if I got a C+D on my pony customs.  But in making a profit off their IP illegally, I run that risk and I can understand where they're coming from.

[Iris Patch]

It seems a little strange to me that so many people would argue on Hasbro's behalf on a forum with a thriving customs board, which are certainly no different from those plushies in Hasbro's eyes.   When you sell "Baby Rarity" or a Celestia painted to be Nightmare Moon or a sculpture of this or that pony, you are infringing just as much as this person was.   I hope Hasbro doesn't turn its fiery gaze over here.


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Personally? I've always known what I am doing when I sell fanart. I am well aware it is not legally right with US copyright law, and that at any given time the companies could tell me to knock it off and I would be forced to pull it all down and stop immediately. I would have to get a new "shtick" and that's okay.


But it's like stealing music- I understand the risk and am willing to take it.

[Sunset]

No one is arguing that they don't have the right.  It's just a bit heartless to start attacking customisers out of the blue when you've said you don't mind and admired it (I mean they made a blank pony FOR customising) in the past.  Especially when the person isn't actually taking money from them, or claiming they are official or any of that. 

Disney once forced a childcare centre to paint over a mural that had disney characters in it.  Did they have the right?  Yes.  Was it right?  No.

There's a difference between Hasbro providing a blank and saying "make your own character" and someone  using one of Hasbro's already established characters to make money.

[Iris Patch]

Well, not everyone here is exactly pro-custom, but I'm not sure I'd consider plushies customs anyway... customs to me are redecorated plastic toys.

Which is funny, because in Pokemon collecting fandom, every handmade item is a "custom". I'm still getting used to how the term is used over here.

[saply]

Well with customizing, Hasbro still makes that ~$5 USD gross profit on each pony sold as bait. Whether they've been altered or customized or not they're still official licensed Hasbro products.


When you buy an embroidery machine and yards of Minky, Hasbro doesn't really see a dime of it ^_^; I know I know, technicalities schmechnicalities, but I'm just sayin'.

[Elisto]

Well, not everyone here is exactly pro-custom, but I'm not sure I'd consider plushies customs anyway... customs to me are redecorated plastic toys.

Which is funny, because in Pokemon collecting fandom, every handmade item is a "custom". I'm still getting used to how the term is used over here.

Well, that's also just my impression...I could be wrong

[LadyMoondancer]

customizing is NOT infringing.

I really doubt that would hold up in a court of law. The pony mold designs themselves are Hasbro's intellectual property, so even if the character is new, you're using something of Hasbro's (the mold) to make a product that turns a profit.  Think about the fakie companies who reverse-engineer Hasbro molds for their toys--it's about the same thing, right?  Hasbro molds, new character designs.  And Hasbro certainly can (and sometimes has) gone after them.  (But it's kind of a moot point anyway, as Hasbro has the resources to be able to afford a prolonged court fight, while your typical customizer does not.)

At the very least, any pony custom based on a Hasbro-created design--G3 Mimic, grown-up G4 Sweetie-Belle, G1 Pinkie Pie, and, yes, Baby Rarity--is technically infringing on Hasbro's designs.  They do not suddenly become "new characters" when you make them in a new pose or turn them into an adult/baby/other generation.

I'm just saying people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

[Jenn77]

Ok say you make a G1 into a G4 or vise versa  or any other different gen. for someone as a gift no profit made or anything, it was just because they wanted something like that to have. Is that allowed or would that be considered infringement as well? I figure it doesn't hurt to know

[xkappax]

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

^^^^^ This.

It's not siding with the companies, it's pointing out that what white dove (and other people that sell their plushes) is essentially against the law. It is allowed to exist on the internet because Hasbro or whoever chooses not to go after the people who are doing it... but... with the exposure that White Dove was getting, it was only a matter of time before this happened.

It's like if I started to sell super mario plushes to the nintendo community. If I got popular enough, or if my plush of Mario happened to sell on ebay for over 3,000 dollars, I think nintendo might notice and shut me down.

The same thing happened a few years ago with this guy in the puppet making community. He used to sell muppet replicas (and really good ones, too) on ebay. And the jim henson company didn't really like that too much, and the replicas went away.

White Dove's plushes were beautiful, but what she was doing was still, unfortunately, against the law.

customizing is NOT infringing.

Unfortunately, customizing a pony to be a hasbro character IS infringing on copyright if you are making a profit on it.

Ok say you make a G1 into a G4 or vise versa  or any other different gen. for someone as a gift no profit made or anything, it was just because they wanted something like that to have. Is that allowed or would that be considered infringement as well? I figure it doesn't hurt to know visitors can't see pics , please register or login

I'm sure there are grey areas. Hasbro isn't going to come after someone for making a gift for someone. They're going to go after people who are profiting from their characters.
 

[StoryDreamer]

I was really hoping somebody would put a Sauron image up.  You never disappoint, LM!!

I love these kinds of threads, lol, it makes us all INTERNET LAWYERS!  DA DA DUM.. 

I actually don't know what side I'm on. I can understand both sides.  Everyone always brings up the Disney daycare murals in copyright discussion. Those were removed for several reasons, as listed on Snopes.com, but most importantly the images suggested a business partnership existed between the day care and Disney. 

It's in a company's interest to protect its copyright and trademarks. Period. It doesn't matter if they make shoes or watches or plastic kittens or toy ponies etc.  And this is for all types of reasons..

If a consumer buys a product not knowing it's counterfeit and something were to happen such as maybe it's a toy and it broke and is a choking hazard, the company the counterfeiter stole from is then targeted and possibly could be sued for damages and liability.

If a creator makes money off licensed characters and trademarks, and uses them in a business form, it could imply a partnership such as the Disney example above.

If the company DOESN'T go after some people infringing on copyrights, those who have bought the rights (like H&M with their accessories or Basic Fun with their keychains) and licences could protest as that COULD BE a perceived loss for them.

[Sunset]

Ok say you make a G1 into a G4 or vise versa  or any other different gen. for someone as a gift no profit made or anything, it was just because they wanted something like that to have. Is that allowed or would that be considered infringement as well? I figure it doesn't hurt to know

If you don't make money on it and it is for your own personal use, I believe it is generally acceptable.  Example:  art students can do studies of masters and it is acceptable as long as they don't try to sell the study as anything more than what it is.  Same thing for making photocopies of printed material, as long as it isn't mass produced and it's for your own personal use, your fine.

[saply]

Oh O: I learned something today too

[Elisto]

That's the other thing I was going to say...just because Hasbro sold blank ponies to customize doesn't necessarily mean they're endorsing the resale of those customs or that any Hasbro property other than those blanks can be used for whatever.

It's my understanding that fan art for personal use or gifts tends to fall into a gray area and I would imagine depends on a lot of factors, although I've never heard of any company going after that kind of thing...

[xkappax]

Hasbro isn't going to go after a customizer that is selling ponies for 30 dollars. They're going to go after the most well-known plushie maker that is selling plushies for $400 - $3,000 dollars a pop.

And basically, if you don't advertise, but still make customs, who is going to know that you're charging for them?

[kamakazee82]

i am not in a glass nor, nor throwing stones. i do not make customs or plushes that provide my sole source of income. i don't make them at all outside of a few pictures of my own pony that aren't going to be sold to anyone for any price or ever leave my possession.

if you create a NEW character that is not hasbro controlled (not hasbro protected, different color/hair/symbol etc etc) that is not a hasbro controlled pony and is a custom pony that is not infringing on their contolled product, that is a custom. creating a cyber fizzy, or gothic mimic (both styles never released by hasbro) are ideas CHANGED to become original. yeah the base idea is there, but they are so changed as to be distanced from the original.  a plush twilight sparkle. can either be the HASBRO produced twilight sparkle or the fan made one ... hasbro makes plush ponies of some of their characters and i'm sure have been in the works on trying to produce more and trying to figure out the means/size/materials/etc of doing so. a plush of a hasbro controlled character is a dip into hasbro's pocket on anything they may choose to release in the future.

and yeah, they could crack down on ANYONE making customs of hasbro ponies. ponies, art, tatts, plushes, pictures, etc for money or other personal gain. that's part of the risk taken. they could see it as a small drop in the bucket ($100 bucks ever now and then maybe) and not worth the thousands of dollars to crack down on unlike someone that takes their property and makes thousands and thousands of dollars one ONE ITEM that they have no legal right to make ... it's a risk you take when you steal ... you get caught with the hot property you have to face the repurcussion ... don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

it sucks yes. but they can do what they want. it's still their property if you make a replica of a character they actively control out of fabric, clay, plastic, paper mache, sticks, what have you ...

it's drilled into your head in school, don't plagiarize, don't copy, don't cheat, because bad crap can happen, and here's some of that bad crap happening. the short straw was drawn and they were the unlucky one. and it isn't just one person, it's happened to others on different products at different times. they are made example of. like the child caught cheating on their test is used as an example and given the failing grade.
 
 
 
ETA: and i still say customizing is NOT infringing ... you can create as many beautiful horses as you want but when you sell them as YOURS, especially a character you didn't create, and is owned by someone else, THAT is infringing