Really, Dollmore? Blatant Kuroshitsuji rip-off

I don't know much about copyright but this dress is obliviously inspired by Ciel dress. Personally, even if Dollmore haven't asked for permission for it( I doubt they would ask that's probably why they haven't stated kuroshitsuji in the dress description) I would still consider buying it.

I think that what they did is like someone selling bookmark or doujinshi of a series. When somebody go into an anime con, most merchandise they buy aren't made or agreed by the owner of the series copyright. Yet we all buy that cute keychain with our favorite characters. When you walk in artist alley in convention, you see a lot of people selling their fanart of naruto, bleach,one piece(ECT) and yet not a penny of this goes to the original creator.

The only thing I can say against the dollmore outfit is their lack of mentioning that it's a total copy of Ciel dress, here is Ciel dress vs dollmore dress if anyone had not googled it

 

Yeah right, you do realize when the used Suigintou's dress in Rozen Maiden, they didn't state that anime either. They did not say they copied it, and they did not say they didn't copy it. So we dunno, all we have to do is stop assuming, none of our business.

 

>.< this still going on :P

 

wow, it's one thing to be inspired by but another to be such an exact copy

 

I think it's acceptable. After writing fanfictions, I realized that plagerism is an unavoidable part of life.
The mangaka who designed that dress, I would venture to say, ripped off of another person's art, considering it is based off of an outfit from My Fair Lady. And whoever the costume designer was for My Fair Lady probably saw something on the street that inspired her to either copy or elaberate the dress we see here. And that dress that the costume designer saw probably came from a designer that copied it off of something else ect, ect.
Another example is Cinderella. If that is even the orginal; you see hundreds of stories that have the same theme. A rag-to-riches story. Sure, they are missing some events and elements, but they are very similar.
Plagerism is EVERYWHERE. It's actually quite ridiculous.
I do see where you are comming from however. That dress is almost exactly the same, and considering the BJD world and anime world are connected in a sense, it's pretty shallow.

 

It would be really great if you would point out the innacuracies in the images versus the costume - I for one cannot see anything glaringly different even the ribbon detail had been faithfully copied - the only exception being the number of flowers on the hat.... As a IRL dressmaker and seamstress the costume is what anyone in my industry would consider incredibly accurate... So it is in fact an EXACT copy of the image - any attempting to justify otherwise is clutching at straws....


Again on topic... It would be very interested to discover the legalities about this - has anyone asked Dollmore if they received permission to make it?

 

That's exactly how I feel about this. They could at least say where the original dress is really from.

 

i swear ive seen that purple hanbok outfit somewhere... maybe my imagination.http://dollmore.net/shop/step1.php?number=6769

 

i dunno if anyone brought it up before...but anyone else notice that the doll modeling this for DM happens to be pretty flat chested too (as Ciel is due to the fact hes a boy?)

...but if theyre gunna make Kuroshitsuji clothes, we can has Grell please? lol and Sebastian! XP *shuts up*

 

The dress design looks like it's a cross between the famous Ascot Race dress (the striped bow) and the pink fluffy dress (I don't remember the scene but I see a Barbie dressed in it... research says "Closing Scene").

Here they are just so you can see what the originals look like:

Ascot Race scene:


Barbie dressed in the "Closing Scene" dress:


Was the anime picture supposed to be an homage to My Fair Lady or did Dollmore just make that connection because of the striped bow?

Anyway... ever noticed that when you go to a fabric store and look at their costume patterns they get really wacky names like, "Fearless wanderers..." for stuff that looks almost exactly like Lord of the Rings? That's how they get by selling patterns that look like they come from the movies. They do their own pattern design to get those pattern shapes. It's not like they buy one of the costumes and reuse the pattern. It's not 100% accurate using their own drafting design department to make something very close. And that's why they can sell "Fearless wanderers" and NOT "Lord of the Rings" patterns. Also notice that the official patterns aren't accurate either? Yeah... me too.

Edit: The dress design itself makes me think Gunne Sax circa 1989. Ruffles... and chest bows.

 

Dollmore did not say they made it to look like the anime, and they did not say that the design is theirs. I bet they are fully aware on what might happen if somebody found out, not really our business, don't buy the product if you're complaining.

For all you know they could have made it so dolls could cosplay along with others too.

 

omg... srsly, who cares.
It's so stupid that you'd get your feathers in a bunch for this, you're not the mangaka, you shouldnt be offended.
I'm sure the mangaka has SEEN it already anyway.
I am interested in the legallities, but for the discussion to go this far is silly.
It's an EXACT copy, theres no doubt about it, I do agree with you on that.

 

Aren't copyright laws different in Asian countries? And they've had the Junk... excuse me, Suigintou outfit on there for a long time. *shrug* It's a cute outfit.

 

Can they do this?

Yes.

There has been a looooooooong battle between fashion designers and those cheaper companies who literally copy their designs. How can this happen? Clothing cannot be copyrighted. So when a place like Forever 21 copies a designer dress, they can get off free. However, if they copy a logo, then their in deep shit.

When it comes to something like this, they can copy and outfit and sell it as much as they'd like. The only thing they can't do is copy it and market it as the outfit of that character.

Is it right? You decide.

There are soooo many companies that do this. For anyone who goes on Gaia, there are many items that are called something else when it's clearly from a certain anime. Calling it a "Magical Girl" outfit instead of "Sailor Moon outfit" clears them of all copyright issues even if it looks the same.

The outfit from Dollmore is clearly taken directly from that anime/manga, there is no arguing that. I'm not sure what the legalities are in Asia for that, but it would be legal here in the USA.

 

I wrote to Dollmore about this-
This Dress looks EXACTLY like the dress design for the character Ciel in Kuroshitsuji when he had to dress up as a girl at a ball...
http://www.dollmore.net/shop/step1.php?number=6765
Cosplay of the dress-http://i18.ebayimg.com/02/i/001/08/17/fb55_1.JPG
Figure of the character in the outfit-http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/2/3/0/6/webimg/256438137_o.jpg
official art-http://www.jwyshop.com/p/poster/pa/pa256.jpg
I don't know if it was known or not or stated on the outfit itself...If so it is a lovely dress and wonderful for a bjd, especially if wanting to cosplay your bjd in Kuroshitsuji attire.


Dollmore's Response on it:

Hi~ customer^_^

yes, our dress designer was inspired and cosplay by Kuroshitsuji... ^^;;

thanks for your interest~~
Dollmore JEE. =))


So they are not denying it is of Kuroshitsuji. I think if they gave some reference to Kuroshitsuji on the description some where it wouldn't seem so bad.

 

My advise, If you wanted one buy it, if it offends you boycot it, and let the companies rtesolve it with lawyers if there REALLY is an issue

 

I don't think I'm really interested in any of these Dollmore outfits in question.

HOWEVER, the wig that the doll modelling the Seifuku Senshi outfit is wearing is something that definitely piques my interest. Bunhead. Princess Leia. WANT.

 

Mentioning this is the only thing that WOULD cause Dollmore to encounter copyright issues. A Magical Sailor Girl outfit is perfectly alright, but "An outfit inspired by Sailor Moon" is copyright infringement.

You should just appreciate it as a beautiful and well-crafted homage to an anime you love. It's an expression of admiration on the part of the Dollmore designers. They were obviously very taken by the manga-ka's creativity and fashion sense. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

 

I finally bought this lovely dress for my Ciel :3

I was determined to get it b4 it gets taken down for copyright XD

 

Well I am not saying anything bad on it. Just say someone makes a cosplay outfit of this dress. Natural they will say especially if they are selling it say on e-bay "Ciel Dress for Cosplay" or "Kuroshitsuji Cosplay" To make sure credit is given to original designers and to clearly state where the dress came from or inspired for. If not the world of cosplay would be taken down as we know it O_O. Just I think everyone here is wondering if the same should apply to a doll cosplay dress...I do appreciate the dress and even stated to them if it was Kuroshitsuji inspired "If so it is a lovely dress and wonderful for a bjd, especially if wanting to cosplay your bjd in Kuroshitsuji attire." Just if someone took a design dress from some of your art work and made a doll dress from it and did not give credit, even a mentioning of the inspiration, wouldn't you be irked?