BJD makers threatened by China-based counterfeiter / trademarks

I don't think it'll help but I just went to that trademarkia-site and sent them a message that three of the four trademarks Luo registered with them aren't actually his, giving them links to the registration and to the three doll companies he's registered with them. Not sure if anything comes from it but this is just making me so angry I want to do SOMETHING (besides posting angry confessions on tumblr).

 

@mangameow I emailed them to make them aware. Will let you know if/when I hear back from them.

 

I really don't like how this tries to make companies obligated to obtain copyrights in order to protect their freedom. That's just like victim shaming. That's very anti-freedom, too... That power hungry bastard, trying to build an empire out of recasts and conquer the rest... I'm gonna need a few days to digest this news.

 

People are so evil! Truly disgusting! I wanna smash is head! >:c

I'm gonna be blunt here. He's gross! If he does that, he won't be able to recast anymore dolls because they will end up out of business (god forbid) and then what's he gonna do? He's a recaster. All he's gonna do is just recast dolls. If there aren't gonna be anymore, there will be no more to recast.

This hobby is supposed to just be a happy hobby for doll lovers! Not a dramatic hobby! I don't know why people like to just steal other people's work and support recasts! Yes, bjds are pretty expensive for a doll. But, you can buy legit bjds from other sites or buy a second-hand doll from sites and it'll come around the same price as a recast doll! resin soul, Miro doll, bobobie... Or if you cannot afford even those, just buy a barbie or a monster high. They are really nice to be honest. ;3

I pray this guy doesn't win! I wish all the legit companies good luck! ^-^

 

It's really heartening to see how the community has banded together behind the companies and artists who make this hobby possible

@Blah just curious, source on the false egg thing being related to Luo/recasters?
I was under the impression their background was working with legit companies (and then getting fired when they started stealing and recasting dolls), specifically Asleep Eidolon and Xagadoll.

 

Apologies if this is the wrong place to mention it, but Fairyland just released this statement on their site:

"Hello,
This is CP/FairyLand.
Thank you to those waiting on your orders. As of April 27th, all orders placed at FairyLand has been shipped.
We are also working on trademark/branding issue that has been reported to for us last couple of days. More detail will be available soon in our image blog post.
Once again, we thank you for your patience and look forward to seeing you soon with new release. "

So they are aware of the situation, and will update soon with pertinent information.

 

thank you so much! i have added them to the list as contacted! ^^ i hope alice gets back to us soon!

i just got your DM alerts on my phone, haha, but yeah, i believe that the primary source was f15dolls on insta. i have no idea if they have anything extra to back it up, but you can always ask them!

this is a good place to put it, thank you for posting! i'll add them and their response to the list, thanks for alerting us! ^^

 

This Lou person is a putrid piece of trash, I don't even get how someone can be so freaking evil...

I wish there was a way to help the artists that will be hurt by this bastard, but I am not sure as individuals there is much one can do.
Unless, there are popular social media influencers who are willing to help spread the word? I think the tumblr idea is great and awesome of people who
are willing to help put the time and effort in that project, but how many people will actually see, or care? If we could reach a much broader audience
and let them know how much damage rotten people like Lou are willing to do to a small group of artists, maybe we could get those who are able to stop him,
legally, to help. Like, maybe YouTubers, not necessarily in the hobby, but ones willing to help spread the word on their channels or other social media.
I don't know, this situation is so frustrating and infuriating at the same time. I can't even grasp what this demon is thinking.

 

(To clarify for anyone else reading that exchange lest it sound like I was looking for proof that Luo worked for Xaga/AE and that my question got answered. mangameows and I were also chatting about this via PM because I was scrambling to source my own post -- they're responding saying f15dolls was the source for the Xaga/AE info (and only that, not the egg thing). But meanwhile, I still have not find any source on the egg thing and remain curious about a source for Luo doing that.)

(...huh, I could have sworn there used to be an egg emoji in with the food ones. :P )

 

I think using someone who is famous outside the hobby will attract many people who dont actually understand or care about it enough and would be interested in the cheap alternative = recasts. So it would be even more troublesome.

 

I was thinking more about using popular influencers to shed light on Lou's intention to register trademarks that don't belong to him, rather than to attract more people into purchasing dolls.
Dolls are not that appealing to everyone, so I was thinking that by focusing on the fact that he is taking something that doesn't belong to him, and claiming it as his legally, people would want to join
in stopping him and not thinking about how it would attract more people who like to buy knockoff of things. However, I don't know of any preceding incidents such as this one, so you might be right.

 

But an influencer would have zero effects in legal business, unless it was a chinese in a hollywood kind of level.
Influencers make things become trendy and because of this it could easily go out of control.
In my country personally it would attract young people who parents arent willing to expend that much, so it would sure go to the recast side. But I don't know if a more mature influencer, maybe in the artistc business side could attract different people. But still, I don't think a lot of people who doesnt understand doll collections would understand how that matters.

 

I see your points. I wasn't implying that influencers would somehow magically be able to affect the law, but rather have a broader audience
and be able to reach people who might actually be able to do something legally. Not necessarily explaining or promoting the hobby or the dolls, but the fact that
this Lou guy is trying to register a trademark for something that doesn't belong to him. As a person, not as an artist, I would hope that people would be against it.
Whether they are interested in art, dolls, toys or not, taking something that doesn't belong to you is not okay, I would with a naïve heart, hope that most people would be outraged
and do something against that man. I hope my words are getting across, I wasn't trying to say that I'm going to reach out to influencers, or that they'll even give a flying rag
about it. I just thinking out loud about what a single person could do, if we wanted to try to help. Because I honestly don't think I can do much.

 

This- this is disgusting... I have no words...

 

Please, don't get me wrong, since english is not my first language and my vocabulary is not vast sometimes I sound harsh like a robot or something, but I'm not judging you or saying by any means you shouldnt do that, I am just giving my opinion.

I think a broader audience would only bring more drama, not everyone understand dolls being this expensive, not everyone understand art, many would probably side with pro-recasters just because of this.
And expect people to stop and think about what is moral, what is ethical? That is really something, see bullying for example: its clearly wrong, no one actually think its right in any way, but people still do it all the time. Even victims reproduce it.
I dont know if I'm just too emotionally exausted, but I am tired of going through this talk with them over and over again. Its exhausting to explain how you are not crazy for buying expensive dolls when you are an adult and so on. "No, is not about 'brand loyalty' to want legits only", "Recast aren't the same as manufactured counterfeits but much worse", etc etc
Reborns babies became a trend here because of the youtube influencers and it was not great for artists, I can see something similar happening to bjd if its spreaded by the wrong person.
Also, you say you hope people would do something against that man, but like what? Justice with their own hands? That can escalate really fast. I think people should actually NOT do things with him, not give him money, attention, and so on.

 

@mangameow

I got a reply from Dollmore :

A reply from Little Monica :

Another reply from Peak's Woods :

I'll keep you posted if other companies are giving feedback about this matter. Thank you for your help in compiling the list.

 

I think it might be a language barrier thing, I never even remotely suggested vengeance against this person or bullying, or anything remotely close to it. I did mention legally stopping this person, if we cold bring his evil intentions to a broader audience. Not introducing others to this hobby, or discussing the dolls or collector within the hobby.

 

I think you are better of 'joining before getting' because it lets you learn from ppl who know AND if you are lucky to have an actual group to go to ... you get to see and touch dolls before choosing one even... Which makes you an informed buyer... always a good thing.

 

Agreed. I already went to meetings before I bought my first doll. There weren't really many recasts back then though (12-13 years ago) so the temptation wasn't there, but still. Knowing you're part of something without already owning the item helps a lot to make the right choices.

 

I agree with St. James that social media is really important. Most newbies come across photos and pictures of BJDs on social media. So our movement should be centered there. Tags and links are important, so they know where to see and buy, but also educating them is important! I always put my dolls' bios on my DeviantArt, and I also stated clearly that I am a "no recast/counterfeit BJD" person. We should all do the same... The more people post about it, the better! Just the other day, a person who has been following me on Facebook asked me about recast because she said: there are people in a BJD group selling recasts as "second hand dolls". I clearly told her what recast means and why it is hurting the hobby. From one person I hope the information will be transferred to another. We should also address this matter in conventions or events.

And... It's already 30 April...