How would you feel if somebody copied your doll?

BJD aside, as an art student and author, I get quite upset when people copy my work. Though I feel prideful that someone thought my work was good enough to copy, I felt awful that they got all the recognition I could've gotten for what I did. I don't think there is any proper reason why this is valid behaviour. I find it repulsive.

 

I would be very upset and probably block them on every social media platform.

Before anyone thinks I’m overreacting, hear me out. I’m not talking about having the same sculpt or a similar style or sharing the same (common) name. I don’t mean coincidence either. There are only so many sculpts, wig styles, colors, etc and unless you make everything yourself in a style that’s never been done, others will have the same things, and that’s fine!

By copying, I would mean so many similarities that there’s little doubt of copying. Same sculpt, same body, same color, same/similar wig, same eye color, same fashion style, same/similar name, nearly identical character and backstory, even attempting to copy my doll’s custom faceup and/or mods. My dolls are very personal to me and most are characters I’ve created and developed for years, some for more than a decade. To see someone blatantly copy my character in every way and claim it as their own would be devastating.

 

Kind of ridiculous and not ever thought of being 'copied' by others... to be honest if the doll was ordered from brand makers like V**ks or L*ts, the sculpt at the beginning are all the same , to some extend if I don't make my own doll outfits, even I buy from various shops, there must be somebody brought the same outfits with me....lol
So if there is a person who keep on copying my self made doll with my self made outfits, then that person must be my fans lolll

 

I feel like there is an extent to which copying or looking very similar reaches it's limit. There are definitely going to be similarities when we buy same sculpts from the same company and use the same face-up artists. But even so, there are some doll owners who have the most unique-looking dolls that they have obviously poured a lot of time and effort into when they create that specific look.

What would push me over the edge is if the doll is especially distinct and the copied doll's name, style and even character backstory is a carbon copy (like in loo.luisa's case with her Crispin). I did not actually know that this owner who copied Crispin owned a copy of Crispin and was happily following her instagram for her other black-haired boy... When I found out just awhile ago, it seriously left a bad taste in my mouth and I had to unfollow her immediately. It's one thing to draw inspiration from someone else's doll, but it's quite another to copy such a unique-looking one wholesale.

 

I wouldn't really mind, it's none of my business. Perhaps I'd feel a little proud someone actually likes my dolls.

I actually copy a bit myself; I never do faceups without looking at an actual model (bad habit, comes from being a portrait artist and sticking to references so much I am unable to draw without), so technically all my creations are copies of several faceups. I need to see brush strokes, I cannot look at a photo to paint. But I haven't ever copied a full faceup from one head or copied it to the extent that e.g. moles would be in same places, I just need the technique. There's a dramatic quality difference between my faceups I had a model for and those I didn't have it for. Also it shows if the faceup I looked at was made on a different sculpt.

Character or wigs or clothing then, no. I just copy faceups to get best possible results in realism, but my dolls all belong to my own story and they have their own characters. They wear historical costumes that I sew myself or order. But sometimes I do admit I get influenced by others in the sense that I end up making the same colour wig that I see in owner pics, or ordering dolls in the same resin tone as I can find owner pics in, but that's more like fear of not knowing if my vision works without photo reference.

 

I'd be furious if someone copied Hypatia exactly, I've been working so hard to get her exactly as I want her. But if someone else made an Egyptian/Greek inspired Soom Alk I'd get excited. It all comes back to what everyones saying, imitation vs direct copy.
That being said if someone copied Klara I wouldn't get as mad. She has a company face up. While I have worked hard on her look, I don't as responsible for her look. So if someone made a witch Rinon yosd that looked just like her I'd shrug and maybe be a little fustrated, but not angry.

Really though with how customizable these dolls are I'm baffled by anyone haveing an exact copy of anothers doll(unless it's a company full set or friends each having one of a twin). It's so easy to make a few small tweaks and make it your own.

 

To me, the best thing about BJDs is how dynamic they are; I love constantly changing their looks to be something new (to me) and different. I wouldn't consider any of my dolls to have an iconic enough look/character to steal. My most 'unique' doll is probably No.15, who was inspired by the destroyed Olympia in Hoffman's "The Sandman". She has painted cracks and hollow eye sockets; she holds her "pretty eyes, pretty eyes" in her hands.

If something I do inspires someone else to do something similar, I think that's great! It'll never be exactly the same as what I have; it'll be their own interpretation of the concept. Or, if the 'look' is assembled from ready-made pieces (purchased wig, shoes, clothes, etc), it wasn't really "mine" to begin with, eh?

I also have some obscure dolls in my collection, so if mine inspires someone else to check out the artist and buy one of their own, I'm happy the artist is getting a little more support because of me.

The only real "character" dolls I have are cosplay dolls or inspired by characters I like. I don't have ownership of the character, so I have no reason to be upset if someone else makes one, too. I know that seeing someone else's custom doll can inspire a person to want their own--I do sewing commissions, and often after I complete a cosplay of a popular character, I'll have multiple people contact me, inquiring if they can commission the same character costume. (My "Violet Evergarden" sewing pattern gets the most attention in my Etsy shop.)

 

I think I’d be amused

 

I would be shocked. That would be my first reaction if one of my dolls was totally copied (as in sculpt, story, similar wig, eyes, face-up... the whole lot). All my dolls are OCs that are very dear to my heart and all of them but one have custom face-ups, wigs and a very particular style. I understand this hobby as letting a part of me come into doll form and I wouldn't understand skipping that awesome part of it just by copying someone else's.
If that's not the case, and someone is just inspired by them and want to give their sculpts a similar style or even asks me where did I buy a particular item, I'd be happy to help. We live in a world where almost everything has been done before and everything we see makes an impression in our brain one way or another.

 

All I can say is there is nothing out there that is really original anymore. It is difficult to accuse anyone of copying because it is entirely possible that the person imagined the doll by their self, without even seeing yours. It is also entirely possible that they have seen your doll among the sea of other dolls with that sculpt and had probably taken inspiration from it without being self aware.

What I mean to say is... there are perhaps 100s of Minifee Chloes out there with pastel hair in casual clothing. You can't feel bad that your girl looks just like the other one. There are 100s of toddler Lati Yellows with brown mohair pigtails! You can't feel bad that your Lati Yellow Happy looks like the other person's doll, too. (Applies to other sculpts as well). The idea is never really originally yours. Again, nothing is really original anymore...

Additionally, some background stories are quite generic. A vampire living a lone life. A handsome guy who has a tragic past. A high yandere high schooler. Etc, etc, etc.

Don't take it too hard if you see a doll that is similar to yours (or even the back story). Maybe you just have the same ideas, you know? I think it's childish when I see these complaints sometimes...

ON THE OTHER HAND, a blatant copy 100% of a doll, down to sculpt, body, wig, clothes and faceup, except when it is a company fullset, would probably make me raise an eyebrow. But everything else? Please. Grow up.

 

I think it would take a lot to convince me that someone was trying to copy my doll. Kind of, like... if it isn't a blatant copy of nearly every element then my brain just assumes it's a coincidence... or a result of the fact that I get my accessories from some of the most popular doll shops online.

For as many accusations of copying as I've seen in this hobby, I don't think I've ever seen a case where the accusation was justified... almost every case I've seen features a (no offense) very generic or easy style that could have easily happened by coincidence. The "100% blatant copy" seems to be a purely hypothetical or exceedingly rare phenomenon.

 

Frankly, it wouldn't bother me if they didn't credit me. After all, how many people credit fashion designers or manufacturers when they wear clothing? They just take it out of the wardrobe and put it on, they don't (unless they're total prats) tell everyone that sees them in it who the designer is, or what shop they bought it from.

Most sculpts aren't unique, and anyone who buys them is free to paint/style/dress them any way they want, if they choose to copy one of mine, that's entirely up to them. I'm not copyrighting my diolls in any way, so see no reason to be bothered that they'd do it.

Teddy

 

If someone did copy one of my dolls, truthfully, I’d feel sorry for them. I mean, none of my dolls are anything special. The hypothetical ‘they’ could do a lot better. But, if I did have a doll that was carefully put together with much effort and was unique and someone copied it, then it would irk me just a bit. OK, whatever, hope you have fun, type of feeling.

 

I don't understand why anyone would be upset about other people copying their doll. It doesn't matter if it's inspiration or straight up copy.
Why is straight up copying not okay? It's not like the other person is making money off of their dolls by copying. What exactly are you losing? the exclusivity? why does that even matter?
I think it's extremely childish and immature to even feel the slightest of negativity because of this. I'd be very flattered if someone copies my doll to be fair.

I just cannot even start to comprehend why anyone would feel upset about someone copying. They are not buying r*cast, and yes r*cast is horrible, because there are actually profits generated from it. But copying aesthetic someone's doll is nothing wrong to me. It doesn't matter if they got the same sculpt, same faceup, same wig, same clothes, or everything the same.

 

If someone actually and intentionally replicated my original character/design I'd be really weirded out but if it's like I have a certain sculpt with long black hair and blue eyes and I see someone else who also has that then...it's not a copy and it's dumb to get offended over. There are only so many basic combinations.

 

There’s some styles like pastel, goth and others. Some people claim that’s their style when is not. You can get inspired by the colors or styles! I will feel bad and like confused for their lack of imagination and creativity to copy someone else’s style. My dolls are not very unique they have a pretty simple style so I don’t see the need of someone copying them?...

 

Being inspired by someone else's dolls is one thing, but coping and claiming the idea as your own is basically stealing. The latter would upset me. Most of my dolls are OCs as well, and their characters mean a lot to me. So it would be kinda sad if someone copied something like that.

 

There's an older thread about this same topic here. This one will more than likely be merged with it, as it's always been encouraged on DoA to keep positing on already existing/older threads, until they get too large. As I mentioned on that older thread, I am always confused as to why people would want to copy other people's dolls (particularly mine). I have had people telling me personally that they wanted to (one who actually tried but failed) to copy some of my dolls. It's just mindboggling to me, I don't get why anyone would want to do so. I do understand wanting to have toys based on popular licensed characters as a fan (they are popular for a reason, and I own a lot of them myself), but a doll based on someone else's doll just seems a bit weird and kind of creepy to me (I'm a huge weirdo, so it confuses me quite a bit more than I guess normal people would be?). DX

 

What do you mean "if"? XD

I've had dolls copied before, though not exactly precisely down to the name and history.

Years ago I even found Chaeri (well, my original character that inspired her, anyway) represented in a fanfiction by someone I didn't even know as a supporting character. It was a pretty good story and I actually was rather flattered that someone wrote her into their story.