Artists Using Doll Likenesses without Crediting [Mijn Schatje discussion]

Holy smokes. I finally finished reading this... 29 pages the way I have it set (which I think is to display twice the default number of posts per page).

I find her "ethics" in the creation of this "art" revolting. It's just sheer laziness, and, obviously, greed. It's like anything else: take the few moments to GET PERMISSION and the problem vanishes! Don't get permission? Take your chances of having your fanny sued and/or your reputation ruined. We don't even need to go into the question of whether her art has any value (I personally find what she's done is to leach the life out of the dolls. it's... icky.) Doesn't matter if it's a masterpiece. If she didn't get permission to use the previously published pictures (like those from doll sites) then she is in the wrong. Period.

I noticed that one of the sites mentioned early on that sells her work (on buttons, bags, etc) allows for comments. Dunno if it was DA or not? At any rate, nobody has commented in there that it's tracing I'm a natural-born wisea$$; I had the urge to join up just for the privilege of saying "hey! great tracing! I did that when I was in second grade!"

Well, ok, they didn't have PCs or vector art or anything of the sort when I was in 2nd grade; in fact we hadn't gotten a guy into space yet. I did, however, do lots of tracing art activities in 2nd grade (ugh) and it was harder to do than tracing with Illustrator (yes, I've done that too).

Go Luts. Way to go.

 

After reading Luts' stance against this sorry-excuse-of-an-artist Mijn Schatje along with the updates, I'm so proud that my first doll came from them!!! *huggles Reaiah, her KD Hodoo*

EDIT: 'Just read DIM's response and their stance against Mijn. I'm equally proud of them as well!

 

I have this cra~zy feeling that Volks will make Luts look like they are being nice

 

I dunno, I know VolksUSA was emailed, but what about Volks International. They said in their response that they would forward it along. I sure hope something did not get lost along the way because it seems out of character for them to take so long to answer. Radiotrash (if you are out there) have you heard anything else from them?

EDIT: Please no one else email Volks aside from radiontrash, we are trying to not bombrad companies so I just meant this as a speculation, not a cause for action. ^_^ I am sure that the peope at Volks USA are totally capable as well, I just meant more something lost in translation if that makes sense.

 

My thought on Volks' silence is that they are pursuing things in a legal manner. As with any legal case, they cannot discuss the procedure, just as Luts has said that they can't necessarily share everything that's being done with this situation. Volks is very protective of their image, and I'm very sure they're taking this seriously. They're just not doing so in the public eye. That's my guess, anyway.

 

My thoughts as well. The ball is now in the court of the companies. It's all down to them now, no matter what we want.

 

I don't think I've ever been so pleased to own three Delfs.

Agreeing with the notion that Volks' radio silence is due to legal reasons rather than not doing anything. When the hammer drops for them, I would hazard a guess that it'll be backed up by every bit of documentation possible.

EDIT: Re: the post directly below this -- OH SNAP. Denny, I love you.

 

Been lurking about this thread quietly. Did anyone see Denny's official notice on DIM about Schatje?

http://www.dimdoll.com/board/pop4.php3?ID=113

 

That's awesome. I also noticed that Mijn deleted her doll community post thing from her MySpace, it's completely gone now.

 

Excellent! If she doesn't start seriously trying to make things right fast, it looks like she's going to be in a world of trouble. It will be great to see her not get away with her deception.

 

Here is the thing about Volks..they posted a response about Chinese dolls being sold from illegaly made cast of Volks dolls. In this statement it almost seems that they are tip toeing around another issue. If they are so forward about this, why not the Mijn case? Perhaps because it is not so black and white as illegal casts, but this statement is interesting and the things they state appear to touch on some of topics we have discussed here. This leaves me wondering about the Mijn case. It gives me hope that they will take a strong stance and that their silence is for legal reasons. I just hope that Volks Japan knows how strong of an outcry there has been against this. ^_^

http://www.volks.co.jp/en/news/index_news69.aspx

 

this makes me extremely happy that my first girl is from DIM.

 

If anyone has the contact information for DIM and Lutz in particular, and any others you know that have been defrauded, here is my attempt at explaining how they can use the DMCA to their advantage.


Dear (Doll Company Representative);

As you know, the artist operating as "Mijn Schatje" has used your copyrighted photographs of your dolls for commercial use, making a great deal of money from them.

This is one way you can force her images off the internet, at least as far as the USA is concerned. The USA is a very big market for her images, and not only will she and those who carry her work lose that business, it will make people take notice that she has engaged in piracy.

The DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) passed by the US Congress states that any use of copyrighted material (like your photos) in any form, with or without changes, without permission and licensing, is illegal.

You can use what is called a "DMCA Takedown Order" very easily to block any site that is showing her images from displaying in the major search engines: Google, Yahoo and MSN.

This will mean that the sites will no longer appear in a search using those tools in the USA. There is no cost to do this, no lawyers are involved.

For Google, go here:

http://www.google.com/dmca.html

For Yahoo, go here:

http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/utos-173.html

For MSN go here:

http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyrtInfrg.htm

You can also send DMCA violation notices to individual websites, but unless they are hosted in the US, honoring the DMCA is up to the site owner.

You can also appoint a person to send these notices for you.

We want to support you in your effort to stop this piracy.




OK if that is not clear enough, please feel free to edit it before you send it. I don't have contact information for these folks, so the best I can offer is a template.

 

Understand that unlike most BJD makers, Volks is a very large company. Since the Mijn case also involves Sony (another Japanese company) they probably need to be sure that they uphold specific Japanese law... Volks and Sony are corporate level companies and as such, they may need to follow a different criteria to secure their copyright.

Plus, Volks is usually non-vocal when dealing with unpleasant situations.

 

Oh snap, I love you DIM, that notice is great! I know the thing I want the most is for her to publicly apologize and admit she was wrong. I really hope she does. I agree about Volks too; I am sure they are just assessing the situation and figuring out how to handle it properly before jumping in. It is great that something is actually being done about this. We are not a community to mess with!

 

Yeah Volks is definitely in the shadows planning their actions. They'll probably come down hard on her, and I can't wait.

And way to go, Denny! I love how you worded it. Just perfect. I'm so glad you guys are combating this effectively. Don't hesitate to let us know if we can help you out in any way.

I need a DiM doll now, xD.

I'll take this time too to say I freakin' love this forum and all of you guys. It's really amazing what people can get accomplished when they mobilize like this. Everyone is working so hard, and it's comforting to know that we all band together to defend our own. I'm proud to be a part of this community.

 

I do understand, but I kinda thought they were always pretty vocal (hence the link I provided). But I am sure you are right none the less ^_^ When they want us to know we will know, right? I will not worry about it any more

 

I was asked to tell this fact to Yayami-san of Violet Poem by Pristine Crimson many days ago and I immediately sent e-mails to Yayami-san.
I received a long reply from Yayami-san last evening. Please contact me anyone who can translate a part of her e-mail in English correctly. It is a hard work for current health condition of mine. I am having some sickness for a while and cannot do it quickly. Please help me.

*Edit*
2 reliable persons kindly offered help. Thank you very much.

 

It's good to see how many companies have integrity. I certainly feel different about Leeke after their supposed permission to MS (although that could be just her twisting things around) and I am thrilled to see that DIM and Luts have responded so forcefully. It will be interesting to see how Volks deals with the issue, considering that Sony is involved and that Japanese business relationships tend to be pretty complex. I hope they are able to do the right thing-- hopefully they will see how important this issue is to the BJD community. If nothing else, perhaps the bottom line will influence them.

 

DIM's and Luts' responses make me so happy! This is a great development. I was really disheartened by Leeke's reply.