New Chinese Piracy

Oh dear... This is very bad news. I've already ordered a glot from Soom and I would hate to hear that my incoming girl would be knocked off and mass-produced.
This is really bringing a bad reputation to China products. =.=

 

This is SO TRUE! It's very easy for people to pass off copies as legitimate dolls. There's no way for people to know until the doll in in their hands.

And they might not even make crappy copies, they might be very good reproductions! You might not even be able to tell. Just because they're going to pirate the dolls doesn't mean they'll be "inferior".

I think for people to be safe, ask questions from sellers. I'm sure SOOM includes certificates/pictures of their dolls when they're sold. Make sure auction pictures aren't just from the official site. Ask good questions and you'll be protected.

 

Id hope you ordered from soom because you love the doll and the quality is high, not because it is 'exclusive'?

 

It's ridiculous, not only is it SOOM, they are checking to see which company do their potential customers like and whichever company has the most votes, they will start production of such replicas.

I'm very disgusted by comments made by these "potential" buyers.

They also stated they will commence first production of products in March.

 

I should've seen this coming, but I guess I sometimes forget how low people will stoop for a quick buck. And as a professional artist, I find this to be thievery of the worst kind.

However, without Chinese law recognizing that people DO, in fact, have a right to protect their own intellectual property, it is up to us as a community to stay informed and spread the word. Personally, I think contacting BJD and doll-related magazines about this would be a great idea, especially if they decide to run an article about it. With that much exposure, something might actually get done. Worst case, at least everyone is more informed.

The second-hand implications of this are very alarming for me, as I have 3 Fairyland dolls, and none came with any sort of certifications. I don't think Fairyland is one of the companies being ripped off (yet), but I don't hold any delusions that it couldn't happen. Where does that leave us who have no credentials to show if/when we decide to sell our dolls?

*sigh* This is why we can't have nice things...

 

she didnt say anything about exclusive : x i think like any other doll owner, its not nice to think someone's knocking off something you love, and you dont like the ethical connotations

 

OMG copied Lusis! I've heard copied Luts dolls and it made me never bought any Luts doll without original box or default makeup, no matter what good price listed or how I like it...
Now a fake Lusis! It really freaks the hell out of me.

 

Yet again I'm disgusted at this behaviour. It's not just the company I'm disgusted with but also the customers or the ones putting in contribution. There must be a market or else they wouldn't be doing this.

I can safely say I don't think I'll buy another Monthly if not straight from the company or from DoA again. I've seen enough of El and breakaway knockoffs from companies like this to last me a lifetime, the thought of them copying the 12 zodiacs just sickens me. They're works of art and seeing them do this is just horrible.

 

Why does that matter to you...?

I hope this is just a case of elaborate trolling. A sudden glut of high-quality knock-offs would cause some serious problems in the second-hand market.

 

All we really can do is boycot them though.
The people who will buy from them directly obviously do not care that these are copies. Let them have their fake dolls. All we can do is educate people and hope these don't affect the secondhand market too much.

 

that's sort of irrelevent. Why she ordered the doll, wether it be for the value of it, or for the love of the doll is her own personal business. Either way, she has the right to be upset with the idea of a doll she ordered being duplicated, and sold to the masses as a cheap knock-off version.

I will say, however, that doesn't Ebay have VERY strict rules about the fact of not selling things that you do not own the copyright/patent on? (when it comes to art pieces? I mean i think it say somewhere that if you are selling something as your creation, it cannot be a knock-off. If you see these auctions on Ebay, please flag them. Tell the staff, so that the auction can be removed.

 

While it's absolutely worth reporting them to ebay, I admit that I don't always trust ebay to take care of what they should take care of. It seems to take a lot to get them to remove something--they maybe quicker to act if it's a copy being sold as the real deal, but when it comes to selling a recast as your own creation they've been somewhat reluctant to act in the past. That's why I'm kind of leery of making large doll purchases via ebay.

 

I've always been sketched out by sites like ebay...so I try to avoid it as much as I can. I went to ship out a doll I sold and the first thing they ask me is "is this an ebay thing?" I guess i never ntoiced that ebay has grown that huge. But I digress... Anyways (I'm pretty sure someone said this already), but taking pics of the authentic doll and selling the the fakes. But you'll never know until it ships an arrives in your hands OR even worse...you might not ever know. You can report the seller, but then they'll prbably just move on to another venue or undertake another identity. It's horrible.

I know I have only recently entered the world of BJDs, but this is shocking. I never would have thought that the BJD market would come to this. I mean I'm pretty sure I've seen a few people here and there bootleg accessories and clothes maybe, but dolls?? And as an artist myself, it upsets me because you're disrespecting the people who brought you the creation in the first place--whether the bootlegged version is of good or inferior quality.

And the saddest part which kind of breaks my heart is the other side to this issue: that there are people who will buy these cheaper copies for whether they want to cherish a doll of their own or whatever because it's easier (in terms of $$) to obtain. Isn't it better to try to save up the money, so that you can cherish the doll even more? I wonder if it bugs them even a teeny bit to have a fake.

As for the people who deal in the second hand market, it sucks to have another even more questions to worry about.

 

i dont know if this is what you mean, but actually, this has been happening for years and years, and also *formerly* with some popular companies (dollzone, dollmore, etc) its definitely not a new phenomena, sadly

 

I agree, just because the copies we've seen so far have been of poor quality, doesn't mean all will be. We can't rely on spotting the fakes because they have poor workmanship or uneven resin.

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We can't rely on a boycott or avoiding buying from China. I'll bet you people from many different countries are reading this very thread thinking "score! cheap [mold name], how do I get hold of one?"

The company has found an expansive market. Not everyone believes in supporting the original companies sadly. I sometimes feel those of us that do are outnumbered by those who just want to pay less than everyone else, without caring about the ethics of that.

 

Yeah, i never knew about it. Doll piracy is something that was a whisper in passing to me--I've only ever heard the rumors and never really seen evidence like this. That makes me a newbie still.

 

but I think the shocking factor is, this company is OPENLY admiting to stealing sculpts and planning to steal sculpts with the suggestions of the public.

But guh, I am severely angered by this company for the fact they're ripping off artist's work and just making a freakin' joke out of it.

And now, I feel those who own Chinese BJD sculpts will tend to defend much more about the stereotype that chinese bjds = cheap, ugly things trying to get into the market. (Which, of course untrue, but alas...)

 

This reminds me - I was just looking at a China themed edition of National Geographic, and there was this whole article about people (or maybe one guy?) who paint famous works of art. This one guy has painted copy after copy of Van Gogh's Sunflower painting. The article was just -talking- about it. Of course, everyone knows they're getting a copy because there's only one original and it's sitting in a museum, but the guy is still cashing in on someone else's work (despite having to physically repaint it)... What I'm really getting at is that if something like that is allowed to continue and is even publicized in NG, there's really nothing anyone can do about this company D:

Though I do second the hacking thing! That would be so sweet! They could totally treat all their potential "customers" horribly and scare them away! Bwahahaha..

If only the internet, at least, was under copyright laws... whoever hosts that domain could be contacted....

 

I agree--there have been people ripping off dolls for years, but this instance is just so blatant. It feels more like a slap in the face to anyone who actually cares about abjds and the companies who produce them : P

 

Dear lord.

I hate to say it but eventually "certificates of authenticity" may be necessary for the second hand market. This is disgusting.