Accidentally Buying a Copy: What Should They Do?

Er, yes, that's what I said - Not post on DoA, and post on DeviantArt instead. As far as I know, DA doesn't police the provenance of props in photographs.

 

I'd keep my doll and display it everywhere else.

I'm not sure if the fact that copied dolls tend to be smaller counts as 20% difference from the original so it is no longer a copy but an original. I can see why the dolls are banned (to show support for the industry), but it kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

The size difference does not make the copy an original--it'll still be a copy.

 

To be honest, if it were me in that situation and that was my first exposure to DoA... I'd probably keep the doll and leave DoA. I don't think selling a bootleg is a good idea anyway, because then someone else ends up in the same situation. I think that as time went on I would go one of two ways:

a) become bitter about how rude I thought DoA members were, start to hate the BJD hobby, never want to buy an authentic doll because I don't like the community or the hobby for being so judgemental
b) try saving up for another authentic doll and use the bootleg to practice things I want to try like modding or painting faceups and tattoos, but still keep it as a practice doll (and still probably be quite attached to it).

It would depend on exactly how people treated me, how long I was in the hobby/how much understanding of the community I had (for example if it was only a week before I could show photos I would probably get offended and leave, if it was 6 months I probably would have figured out it was a bootleg by seeing the company mentioned and decide not to post the photos on my own) before said treatment occurred.

But honestly, I don't think making special allowance for people who accidentally buy bootlegs is really a good idea, or else everyone will claim "Oh no! I didn't know it was a bootleg! I never heard about this eBay seller before at all! I'm so sad, but still... can I post him here? I've bonded and can't get rid of him now." even if they knowingly bought a bootleg. : / Cynical of me to think, maybe. But I think it would happen to a degree. : /

 

I know personally that I'd have to keep it once I became attached to it. If that hypothetical situation were the case then I don't think anyone should hold any malice towards the unfortunate purchaser of the doll if they truely didn't know any better. I'd sympathize.

 

If I had in error gotten a copy and had loved it previous to knowing. I think I would keep it, I mean good memories on the doll right? Who should you give a pirated doll to? The garbage man? Goodwill? I am a bit sentimental. I felt sad about my parents making me give away my Pokemon cards to my little cousins and I haven't even played with the cards for near eight years! The memories attached to objects has a big impact on me.

On that note, if posting photos of the offending doll online caused a real poop storm and some members were still looking at me funny (well, the web equivalent...) after the event died down, I might be too discouraged to keep it around. Sometimes there are things I end up liking less because some unpleasant memory got attached to it. Like this one Poets of the Fall song (ironically, "Tomorrow is a Better Day") kind of made my blood boil a little the first few days (got over it later because PotF is too awesome) after I got into a fight with a guy that started with him dissing the song. Listening to the song kept making me think of the guy I hated a lot at first.

I guess the part I'd be unsure of is if I would stay at DoA after the hypothetical event. Though given my internet addictions, I always eventually come crawling back to my usual internet haunts...

 

the 20%/30% rule of thumb is actually a myth as far as copyright goes anyway, its a grey area as to exactly where the line is drawn and copyright varies from place to place but genrally goes along the lines that derivative work must be significantly different and that minor changes do not count, I would consider a slight size difference very minor personally

 

You're totally right. I looked it up, and found these points to consider about derivative works:

+ Creativity of the original work
+ Commercial value of the original
+ Commercial value of the derivative
+ Market substitution
+ Wide distribution
+ Disparagement or harm to original owner's reputation

I agree, a size change, personally, is minor. I guess the thought of copies really don't bother me that much! I wouldn't buy one, but if other people want to, I don't have an issue with it. Perhaps I'm morally corrupt.

 

Just because she learns that her doll is a fake or copy or whatever you particually want to call it (different people call them different things), doesn't mean that the bond she formed is going to magically go away. We all love our bjds like they are our children. I agree with other, she should keep the doll. She didn't know it was a copy. We can't know everything. There are so many companies and new molds that it's impossible to keep up with them all. Even I probably couldn't tell a fake. NOW, if she'd know it was a copy, that's just wrong. But she didn't. Why punish herself and her doll by getting rid of him/her? I mean say you learned you're brother was adopted, you're not going to disown him because it's not his fault. Just like it isn't the doll's fault that it's a copy.

Hopefully that all made sense... I tend not to sometimes. But this is actually a good topic! It makes you think! I mean I couldn't bear the thought of giving up Davey for any reason (Mind you she is NOT a copy I'm just saying that I never want to lose her).

Sorry I rambled!
~Chaos & Davey~

 

I cannot imagine giving up a doll that I loved and had bonded with because it turned out to be a fake. I don't think at that point it would matter to me. But then again, if she posted around here and got the nasty "you bought a fake how dare you" treatment she might develop something of a complex about the doll. It might color her feelings toward the doll to a point where she wasn't bonded with it at all anymore, that she saw it as flawed and tainted. In wich case I don't know what she should do. Obviously she can't really sell it, but it seems a shame to trash it too.

 

quite honestly, if i managed to come to find that one of my dolls was a bootleg mold, i think it would probably strengthen the love i had for it. I'm very clingy to my stuff, and my dolls are no exception. I also seem to have a love for things that are ignored, shunned, or unloved in general, so if i found out that one of my kids wasnt really the company i thought it was, i'd be more likely to cherish it for what it was to me. The fact that it was produced illegally wouldnt change the fact that i grew to love it for what it was. I'd hate the fact that it was produced illegally, but that wouldnt make me want to sell it or shun it.

This is a stretch, and a bit of an odd comparison in some ways, but if you adopted a puppy from the pound, and loved her soooo much, and thought she was beautiful enough to enter in shows, but soon found out that she'd been a mixedbreed not recognised by akc or something, would that deter you from loving her anyway if you got her for her personality and looks and not to show in the first place?


Also, while i completely understand the sentiment DoA has with keeping the bootleg dolls off the boards, isnt there still the rule that offtopic dolls can be in pictures and part of the posts if they are with other 'ontopic' bjds? Wouldnt this fall into the same category? Like, if someone had other dolls, was a regular member of doa, and a bootleg came into their life, would they have to edit that character out completely, or would it still be okay if they put a bright neon sign-like disclaimer saying that suchandsuchdoll was a bootleg? ...just a thought, sorry if that ends up offtopic @_@;;



my tl;dr: I'd keep it, love it--probably more-- and cherish it just as much as any other doll that comes into my home. Sure, i'd be very hesitant to take her out to meets or post her all over doa or something, but i'm damn well not gonna give her up because she had a sketchy background. ^.~

 

As I said in the other thread, your primary concern should be about your health and the questionable material that went into casting that doll.

Resins aren't anything to play around with and can be harmful, even through the dermis. If you don't have a company behind the product you are probably being as foolish as eating mystery paint chips.

 

only difference here, last i checked we aren't eating our dolls ^^;; And while the companies obviously seek to profit from the work of others, i highly doubt they'd be able to profit at all if their customers fell ill to toxic dolls. The resin may be cheap and fragile in comparison to other, legit, companies, but i can't imagine it would be harmful. As far as i'm concerned, resin itself in all forms in questionable since i dont get how its made/produced/worked with at all.

cheapness aside, i'd be more worried about the health of the people who cast the bootlegs. They'd be working for less money, probably in bad conditions to make them for a significantly cheaper price, i'd imagine...

 

I didn't say you would be eating them. I said it was as foolish as eating paint chips - resins can be harmful through the skin.

 

oops, sorry. I shouldnt open my mouth (click my keyboard?) when im this tired. (i just connected dermis with skin. Go me XD;;; ) Never thought of resins being harmful through skin o_O its a seriously scary thought there

 

keep her, after all, i didn't know, and even if it was a knock off, it was still something I love.it a delicate issue, depending on how we take to it. But yea, i'll keep the doll, regradeless of knock off or not. not that i would go out and buy one, knowing it a knock off, unless it someone own creation.

 

If I were her, I'd enjoy the doll and share my love for it on Flickr! She could just put a note in her BJD set that the doll is a copy from Company X.

 

Um I'm a newbie so I have no idea what's going on.

But what exactly is a copy doll, how can you tell a copy from the original?

and I'm most likely asking a stupid question aren't I?

 

You are correct in acknowledging that your comparison is a bit of a stretch. You can't compare dolls to living creatures, humans or animals. Dolls do not have personalities, those are qualities that their owners project upon them. A doll doesn't care if it's a bootleg, cry because it's shunned, because they can't; they're inanimate objects. When concerning a bootleg doll, an owner's first reaction should be about their health. As Darkrogue has been saying, a bootleg company might be using dangerous chemicals or materials in their resin mix. They don't care about the quality of the doll, or preserving creative credit in the favor of making a quick sale. For a person who has accidently purchased a bootleg doll, the last thing they should be worried about is hurting their doll's "feelings."

 

copies are made when someone takes a doll, makes a mould from it and then uses the mould to make a copy, sometimes there are minor changes or one companies head can be put on another companies body

telling if its a copy can be difficult especially when you're new and don't get to see the doll in person before you order, the best protection is lots and lots of research

as a precaution you might want to only order from the company website, not to say all ebay auctions and such are fakes, some companies like Luts have/do sell legitamtly on ebay but if you're not sure its safer to go direct to the source

of course if you think somethings suspicious you can ask/look around the boards for info on a spesific seller/make