Really, Dollmore? Blatant Kuroshitsuji rip-off

*nods* Using a trademarked/copyrighted name with an unofficial product implies the original company's consent. When it's not true (the consent was never given) this is where trouble really happens.

 

I think bunnydots has it exactly right. We're all wearing knock-offs from some name brand-unless you're wearing the real deal, of course. Why shouldn't our dollies?

 

Actually, Forever 21 was sued by Diane von Furstenburg in 2007 for copyright infringement over a blatant knock-off.].

Forever 21 was also sued by Gwen Stefani for "ripping off" designs in 2007.

They were also sued by Anna Sui in 2007.

Anthropologie has also sued Forever 21. According to this article, in 2007, Forever 21 was involved in 17 lawsuits over copyright infringement (and it mentions Anna Sui, von Furstenburg, and Gwen Stefani).

As others have commented, similar designs - as long as they're not a direct copy, are too difficult to control, so are allowed. But for exact copies or too-similar designs, apparently that can fall into copyright infringement, and companies like Forever 21 have been sued over it.

Also, I vaguely remember that Angell-Studio came out with dolls that were obviously inspired by a certain manga, with the dolls named after the characters, and I believe they were forced to withdraw those designs?

Personally, I don't believe Dollmore will come under fire, but who knows? Knock-offs are a fact of life, but if they are too similar, their sale can still be legally prohibited and those responsible punished. But when it comes to anime and manga, that becomes slightly tricky (as with the doujinshi example). It seems a small thing to pursue legal action, though, so I doubt Dollmore will receive any heat from it, other than what's been expressed in this thread.

 

I nearly spluttered and died when I saw the two images on the front page here---- look! Here's a picture of the dress I just bought for my senior class school dance!! O_o;;

A dress shop, a manga, a doll company... whose 'stealing' from whom here? *is confused*

Nobody's crediting anybody it seems... .___.;;; [Although now in a way I kind of want the doll dress now... we can match and do a secret cosplay, lol! xD;;;;]

 

That'd be the Ciel inspired dress that F+F made. I mentioned it back in the previous page.
F+F makes cosplay as well as loli though. They have even made outfits that JRockers wore (Shinya, Mana, etc...)

It's not an exact copy though.
It's shorter, doesn't have the flower in the middle of the ribbon, and I don't think they have the matching hat or the gloves.

 

Ooops, sorry, didn't see your mention back there. [I got a bit overzealous, lol. ^0^;;;]

And yes, I see what you mean. OwO

 

I so totally agree with JennyNemisis!

I like the dress. I hope Dollmore is "inspired" to do more!

 

Yep, they were dolls inspired by Angel Sanctuary, and they even wore outfits that appeared in official artbook images. From what I remember, they did take down the photos but I think that the faceups remained unchanged.

You can still see the original photos if you search through the News Archive.

 

kawaii yay

 

The situation with this is not just limited to one country, however. The manga/anime may be Japanese in origin, but Dollmore's dress is Korean. If this sort of thing is permissible under Korean law, doesn't that take precedence over the interests of the Japanese author? Isn't this the issue companies have when they try to pursue bootleggers in China? Chinese law supercedes the interest of companies outside of China. If the work is perfectly legal in the country where it is being produced, the law of the country affected doesn't count?

 

*nods* I'm no expert in international intellectual-property disputes, so I wouldn't even begin to feel qualified to make blanket statements over who has jurisdiction: things definitely get more complicated (and expensive) to pursue when the potential infringement is in one country and the original creator is in another, and along with differing legal standards from country to country there's further potential for complication in whether or not they're both signatories of international treaties such as the Berne Convention which aim to standardize things somewhat around the handling of such international disputes.

Mostly I felt compelled to comment here because there have been a lot of sweeping generalizations made about Asian countries having lax copyright laws, or clothing designs not being copyrightable -- even with my tiny bit of layman's familiarity with some isolated corners of this huge tangled mess of issues, I know that such broad statements are rather oversimplifying matters; even in the West, some countries are a bit more willing to extend legal protection to fashion designs than others, and even in the East, some countries do have fairly strict intellectual-property laws on the books, even if there are some very visible examples (like the doujinshi grey market) where technically-infringing material is tolerated. These are really complicated issues, enough so that I wouldn't expect all of our amateur armchair-lawyering to come up with a final answer as to whether or not what Dollmore is doing is legal. Whether it's moral or ethical, now, that's rather more fruitful grounds for debate, since that's a personal values call that doesn't require any sort of legal background before presenting an opinion.

 

If people can make commissions for cosplay for their dolls then why not?
From what I understand also, cosplay is very popular in Korea as well...

I have no problem with it, it's a nice dress and people will probably want it.

There are dealers at Dolpa's selling manga inspired clothes for dolls, especially during the Rozen Maiden hype. I think some other company more related to the Obitsu dolls also makes Rozen Maiden dresses and Suzumiya Haruhi school uniforms if it's an issue about massproducing.

I think this says it all:

 

Very few human shoe styles can be considered an exact replica of a specific designer. If you went with Manolos or Louboutains then sure. I've yet to see a dollie pair of Louboutains though man I would die for them...but that's besides the point. Saddle shoes, riding boots, lace up boots...they're all variations on the same theme. Anyhow...Payless does it all the time.

As for the dress, there are several minor details different and anyhow, that dress was inspired by a period costume. The clothes you're wearing right now are a copy or near copy of something that someone else started...so really what's the fuss? Haven't you people watched The Devil Wears Prada? Best rant ever about how even the low end clothes have designer influence.

 

This has happened many many times with many many companies, not just Dollmore. Eluts has had several copy cat outfits as well from anime and Jpop. Nothing to be surprised about.

 

daniblue-
I was actually talking about specific styles, not something like saddle shoes or a type of shoes, but exact styles.
For example Dollheart has made shoes identical to New Rock boots, down to the little holes in the soles and the metal disk in the tongue.
And Dod copied the kitty shoes, which are everywhere now and come originally from TUK. And may i add that has created its own wank in people "copying" Dod, who stole the idea in the first place.
They don't have to be Manolos to be copied. Infact, most Manolos just look like plain old pointy heels to the untrained observer, these boots and shoes being copied from human design actually have very specific designs.

As for the dress, it's an obvious copy. Anyone can see that.

 

I'm sorry...when it hits goth topic I barely notice the shoe...must less wonder about it's roots and if they are a copy. While Maolos look like plain old pointy heels to the untrained observer, goth boots look like goth boots look like goth boots. And I'm goth! Plus I wasn't saying OMG if they're not Manolos they're not copies muahahahah...I was using an example.

More to the point...who cares? Clothes are always copied. There's not an original idea left in clothing. Something comes from somewhere else which came from somewhere else which came from somewhere else.

Don't shop at Wal-mart if you're super concerned about copies. OMG I hope to heavens you don't buy store branded anything! Better buy name brand only and make sure that it wasn't copied from somewhere else. Oooh...and who came out with jeans first? OMG what if mine are a copy? Oh no! Point being...where do you draw the line? If it matters to you that it's not 100% original, don't buy it. Simple. But if you look deep enough, your dolls gonna end up naked.

 

This is why I'm not bothered by this. Dollmore hasn't taken trade away from anyone, since no one is making an official doll outfit in this design.

There's at least one company (can't remember which one) who rip off actual doll outfits. That's directly stealing trade and I very much disagree with it.

 

babytarragon>> I think that was Laidoll or something. The Luts Riche sets were copied (possibly amongst other popular designs?)

 

Yep, that was the company I was thinking of! I think there's been more since. A 60cm boys black and white military style set comes to mind.

 

Isn't this the same as when we commision someone to create a cosplay outfit for us? I mean, everything is a copy of something if you think about it. Besides, Dollmore have stated that it was inspired by 'My Fair Lady', which gives credit to that, however, mentions nothing about Kuroshitsuji. Maybe it is a big coinicidence? Maybe not? Whatever it is, I think they have changed the dress enough to see that it is not a complete replica.

Maybe it's a mix between the two?

TBH, it doesn't really bother me and I don't know much about clothing copyright to say anything that isn't my own opinion (sorry)

One last thing ... has anyone actually asked Dollmore about this, considering so many people are offended by this? Maybe Dollmore can answer better than us?