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Homage Dolls - One company's no-no is another's fortune?

Dec 21, 2010


    1. Just thought it was important to restate this fact. As many Volks fans know, many of the dolls they release that are based on characters are not available to international customers (or are only available in specific countries) because they only have the rights to sell them in certain countries. They do not sell or create dolls without licenses. Furthermore, a huge section of their business is garage kits of anime characters (they created these before they made SDs).

      As for Soom, I am a D fan and I didn't know about this doll until recently. In all honestly, I would not have thought of D if it wasn't for that darn hat. Unlike the Twilight dolls, I think this case is not nearly as clear cut. Of course, that is my opinion. I haven't really been following this. I will say though that I am a little disappointed that there are similarities and I wish they would have used the same sculpt with a different outfit and concept. I do not like companies using another artist's original ideas without permission.
       
    2. It's also worth noting that something can be 'inspired by' and be perfectly legal, a thing can be licensed and be perfectly legal, but a thing being legal doesn't automatically mean that it is properly licensed. I yearn for the ability to create a good diagram involving overlapping circles and whatnot, but I never was good at those. ;)

      Edit: to clarify, I'm saying that ringdoll might be perfectly within the law or even have unofficial permission or something along those lines, but they might not be making a legally licensed product.
       
    3. Personally, I feel that if the OWNER of the character has a problem with it, THEY should sue the companies or claim a portion of all profit. However, if the owner of the character doesn't feel this infringes upon a copyright, then pff! let them do what they like! I don't really care, and I don't think it's any of our places to tell said company what they're doing is wrong. What will pass will pass. That's my stance.
       
    4. But Madge, it's only Uproar Page 10! xD

      There is no "but" after that point. If you get legal clearance first, then it actually is OK. Full stop.
       
    5. I am a little confused on what you mean by this. Volks did not just have permission to make the dolls, the dolls were created and released as a joint project with the original manga artists and companies. (If you look at the Chi listing at volks japan for example you will see a copyright for both Volks and CLAMP.) I do not think it is the same type of issue at all.
       
    6. That is an issue of recasting, and the patent being used to attempt to stop the recasts being made. While it's tangentially related, it really isn't what the rest of this issue addresses at all. There isn't the same confusion about who-owns-what when it comes to recasts; there's not really room for debate there.
       
    7. okay point taken. Sorry
       
    8. From the way I read things Ringdoll did not have permission. As Kim brought out the fact that they pretty much said they looked up all the information and were confident they wouldn't get [sued] says as much to me.
       
    9. Something people keep forgetting about the Ringdoll "Judges" doll, was that the doll ITSELF was not a NEW HEAD.

      It was a standard head they ALREADY HAD. It was just their "Spencer" sculpt (I believe I have the right head) with a different face-up. They DID NOT sculpt a whole new head. The outfit and the accessories were what made it such a big deal in the end, if they hadn't had those, no one would likely have paid much attention. Just like no one paid attention to their Dark Side "Jessica" who is a tip of the hat to the American McGee's ALICE games, or their new "Dark Norman" who is a nod to SEVERAL horror film titles. And "Norman" isn't even a new sculpt, it's the SAME HEAD as their "Kay" and "Sol" dolls.

      Which makes no sense, why not just say the face-up is what has changed, not say it's a 'new' head. If they had advertised the "Judges" doll as "Spencer" with a limited face-up or something it wouldn't have mattered to anyone. If it was their head already I don't see how they were bothering anyone. It's just a face up, people on the forum do it all the time to existing sculpts and you all think it's marvellous (and so do I) because it takes TALENT to make such an accurate rendition of something on a sculpt that was never meant to be that character. I can't COUNT the number of dolls I have seen PAINTED to be a specific character, there are several in progress now if you go browse for them, and people can't say enough good things. Why pick on a company who repaints it's own head?

      Just my $0.02.
       
    10. Actually I hate every company copying other artist's characters. That's a reason I would never buy from Angel Studio or Ringdoll.
      In other news I think creating a doll somehow simular to an exhisting character is not as bad as long as it's not a 1:1 copy.
       
    11. I don't mean to be rude, but this is 100% incorrect. Japan's copyright laws are not that much different than those in the U.S., and they specifically forbid the redistribution of literary/artistic works without the consent of the creator. There are a few exceptions (such as limited use by educators and newscasters/journalists), but none that would apply here. Also, there is no mention of "public domain" in Japan's copyright laws, and whether it exists in Japan is a topic of much controversy. Right now, the only Japanese artistic works that could be considered public domain are those with expired copyrights (copyright protection expires 50 years after the creator's death) and those that are specifically labeled by their creators as "copyright free."

      Of course, in the anime/manga world, authors often choose not to pursue legal action against creators of derivative works (hence why there is so much doujinshi out there). But there is no question that selling a doll of Japanese artist's creation, without first obtaining permission, is a violation of Japanese copyright law.

      ETA: Here are some good links for anyone interested in learning more about copyright law in Japan:
      English Translation of 1970 Copyright Act
      Stanford University's Guide to Japanese Intellectual Property
       
    12. I'm back and forth on this one. That Dhampir doll is a CLEAR rip off of vampire hunter D, and there's no denying it. Just because they changed a few aspects to avoid getting in trouble does not make it right. A while back I saw the same thing happen with a company who made small anthromorphic versions of superman and wonder woman. I personally reported it to DC comics offices, it was investigated, and I'm not sure, but I think the dolls were pulled. I've never understood why some BJD enthusiasts think its wrong to copy a mold someone made, but will justify blatently ripping off someone's character idea. Superman, and Wonder Woman are trademarked characters, thus making the use of their likeness ILLEGAL, without permission. I'm no expert, but id b willing to bet that the characters of 'Vampire Hunter D' are also protected. The reason I'm back and forth is because the nobility custom heads and DIM custom heads are also using peoples likeness, and characters likeness without permission. I'm not sure how I feel bout using someones REAL likeness without permission, because those aren't 'created' by someone, they are people. I have wanted a few celebrity heads for a while. But the character use is definately upsetting to me.
       
    13. I've never understood why homage dolls seem to be such a controversy among doll owners; they don't resemble the characters down 'to a T', and most doll owners probably won't even end up making them look like the characters they are 'based' on. BJDs are sooo customizable, so I just don't understand why they think it's wrong to make dolls such as this.

      IMHO I love the Idealian doll; yes, I do see the resemblance, but I think he looks much more gorgeous than D lol I figured people would like the fact that there are dolls that they can customize to look like their favorite characters.

      Also, isn't it much the same concept as commissioning a minimee doll? I'm assuming the celebrities don't get asked permission to have their likeness immortalized in resin, so-to-speak.