Unidoll Otter

aww cute! I Wanna superotter!

 

i thought countries like korea, china and japan, didnt have copyright laws, and thus are capable of selling these things (just obviously not in the US.) O.o; But i thought that was the reason people get away with doing doujinshi and stuff like that.

either way. their cute...its a shame to take legal action. (not that i condone stealing and copyright infringement.) but i fear it may harm US relations with this company...and we may never see unidoll again in a worst case scenario.

But alas, that is not my descion...and i cant control what happens. hopefully they will opt to not release the two limiteds...and just release basics.

 

I can't say that I like this. It looked like a hippo to me originally and reminds me greatly of Scon the squirrel I saw around.
The head is large and clunky compared to the body and I don't think they caught the look of the otter at all. If the muzzle was smaller and more "refined" it would look better in my opinion.

I prefer the looks of the Dollzone and Pipos styles to this style.

It is also sad that they did not get permission for the DC outfits. However the copyright laws are different in other countries. Also in other countries they don't follow copyright laws at all. Taiwan is one such country that disregard Copyright and Berne law. As for the characters themselves, it has been over 50 years, they they are considered "public domain" in certain countries (in others its 70-75).
I'm not up on my Korean copyright and trademark laws however. So the laws we have could or could not apply.

 

Even if other countries have different or no copyright laws, I really think it doesn't give them an excuse to steal the designs of other artist who DO live in a country thats ruled by copyright laws.

 

comicbookartistboi:

I don't think they should be allowed to do this either, but I thought you didn't mind ripoffs? You said this in the thread about the Kuroshitsuji-style dolls:

Isn't this kind of the same thing?

 

...I'm not sure what Taiwan has to do with anything? It's not really okay to lump all Asian countries into one undifferentiated basket. South Korea is an OECD country, and intellectual property is a serious issue within the grouping.

Taking someone else's intellectual property in order to profit form it is really not okay; DC comics sell rights and permissions, it's part of their legal, justified income, and to make money from their creativity without paying the dues is, quite simply, theft. This isn't a non-profit fannish enterprise, it's not fanfic or a tribute site, it's a capitalist company selling someone else's creative goods for cold hard cash. Count me in among those who are glad they have been alerted and are willing to defend their rights.

I have an equal ethical problem with a lot of the minimees - it's really put me off DIM for good, which is sad, because my first ever bjd came from them.

(The dolls are IMO really failed attempts at cuteness, but that's almost irrelevant at this point.)

 

Well they're icons. Superman was reportedly created in 1932 and wonderwoman about a decade later. IT dont sound like Uni'd be stealing from any artists right since the artists aren't making money off them (Warner Bros is making sure of that), and Warner is just making dumb movies with it anyways :-P. While uni is making something cute and not taking anything away.

--Unidoll has writing on each photograph crediting the original artists and conception dates well over 50 years ago, so it could well be that Uni has already done their homework regarding copyright in their county.
--IT looks like that their copyright extends to 50 years following death of author (so Wonderwoman seems available). As for Superman, the copyright isn't solely owned by Warner and was extended beyond 50 years in the USA.
--Of course I am no expert on this topic, but I don't see either character listed under the DC Comics copyrights list either.

So while I don't condone the theft of art, I personally don't think its harming anyone to make these outfits. Furthermore, unidoll is charging $35-40 for the outfit so I would hope DC/Warner's going to realize it's not worth their time to try to bully for a relatively miniscule licensing cut out of a small foreign company on something that appears to be beyond that county's copyright law. Just my $0.02, and I really should get back to work

 

I agree with what a few people have said regarding the copyright issues: Perhaps the copyright laws in Unidoll's location are different than US copyright laws (I'm pretty sure they are). There are so many possible reasons they produced these dolls without a liscense from DC with the "Superman" and "Wonder Woman" theme... perhaps they didn't understand the scale of their "theft", perhaps they didn't think it would be a problem since these dolls aren't mass-produced on a huge scale and are sold to a very specific audience... perhaps they didn't even think they had to get a liscense to release their dolls with these themes, not understanding the prominence and size of DC Comics in America. It's possible that they knew exactly what they were doing and just didn't expect it to reach DC's ears and eyes. But I have more trust in Unidoll than that and I'm thinking it's a misunderstanding and an accident. I'm really waiting to see how they handle this and either agree to negotiate a license or halt the production and sales of the dolls... I'll gain a lot of respect for them if they can admit they made a mistake and do what they can to resolve it instead of causing a messy legal battle.

What I'm thinking most about right now is... YIKES, what an unlucky way for Unidoll to kick off their new pet doll line!

They took a big risk releasing an "otter" doll instead of something like a cat or rabbit or dog... It's a shame that they took it a step too far and stepped on DC Comic's toes in the process.

The otters have already been deemed "on topic" for the forum so I don't think they'll be banned/off topic unless Unidoll doesn't reach an agreement with DC.. and even then I'm assuming it will just be the outfits that aren't allowed and not the Otters themselves.

I have to agree with comicbookartistboi to an extent, though. This doesn't really seem to me like a huge ripoff and attempt to make piles of cash on someone else's (DC's) ideas... Because it's really pretty small-scale and doesn't market to a huge majority of people. It really feels similar to doll "cosplays" of characters from movies, television, anime, video games, and the like, which doesn't really cause harm to the original creators financially because it's on a small scale and not being mass-marketed. I can still see the discinction though, considering Unidoll and DC Comics are both companies and it's not the same as an individual making an outfit and selling it to another individual (not mass-producing it). If Mattel released a Wonder Woman Barbie with no license, that would be something to duke it out in the courts over, since Barbie is marketed all over the place and sells like crazy. A ball-jointed doll using the motif, especially this quirky little otter, won't cause DC to lose millions... But I do think they should have had the common courtesy to at least contact DC beforehand.

I'll be interested to see how this all plays out.

 

it's not just copyright that's the issue. It's also trademark which has additional components to it. You cannot copyright a name or phrase or concept, but you can trademark it. Both the names of the characters (Superman, Wonder Woman) and the logos on their costumes are trademarked (in addition to all their drawings being copyrighted). So just using the name or the logo is an infringement. Trademarks never become public domain. And as long as the company who owns them is using them the don't expire. So since DC Comics is still in business....

autumnrain, I totally agree about the minimees - those really turn me off and I see them as clear violations of intellectual property rights.

 

they would be considered public domain 50 years after the original copyright owners DEATH. considering that DC has had the copyright and trademark since the characters conception, and they are still a functioning business, the copyright and trademarks belong to them. As long as the copyright and trademark are STILL OWNED by a business or individual, these will never be public domain. Now, if DC went out of business, and then 50 years went by, THEN they would be considered public domain.

i think personally, the fullsets of these dolls should be banned. meaning the dolls could be sold on here, but not the outfits. however, i dont make the rules.

 

has there been any update on the status? I saw the news thread was locked. ANd uni still has them on their site, and on dealer sites.

 

If it is held by a corporation, then the rule is Creation + 50 years (In Canada, which is why Disney films since Sleeping Beauty and older are now public domain.) In the US that law was changed for Disney to be Creation + 95. Creation + 70 for most of the rest of the world. Only in the case of an individual does it become death + (number of years), these characters are not held by an individual (DC Comics usually makes sure of this.)

So it's only the trademark that has been infringed upon, and those laws ARE different
country to country as you have to obtain a Trademark in THAT country as well. There is international protection, but only if the country in question has agreed to it. Taiwan for instance has not agreed to the international trademark, nor copyright. Thus it might differ in Korean as well.

As for
"OMGs stop saying Asia is a bunch of pirates kay!"

I'm sorry but until bootlegs, knockoffs, and other forms of copies stop originating from this continent, one cannot change the facts.


As for the otters themselves, it cannot be debated if they are on or off topic as it is up to the whim of the mods on what they decree as on topic. Howeverif they choose to make the otters as off topic to boycott the use of the DC Comics costumes, might also be a whim.

 

The dolls themselves are on-topic for discussion but until we officially hear from DC comics and/or unidoll about them we are not sure of the legal status of the outfits. That's the update I heard from the higher mods. The mods don't decide things on a whim they vote on it.

 

Just thought I would point out that a year or two ago Luts put out Superman t-shirts for the Sd's, and nothing ever came of that.

 

My heart melts, that otter is so adorable and unique! He reminds me of my ferret, too. I'd like him even more if his nose-thing was maybe just a bit smaller..

 

I thought this thread was for those getting the otter or discussing them.... not haggling over the legalities of the costumes. They (Unidoll) have pulled those, so that should be the end of it. They goofed, they're (the costumes) gone, even DDE can't get them in. Now the otters themselves are adorable. Kinda like a SharPei puppy the ones with the "meat mouth" (big head). They pose well. Once you've posed the Glots and Glatis with horns and know how top heavy and kicky they can be...these little ones are no problem. Mine stands like a rock. I had the (and here we go again, dare I mention this) Wonder Woman face up done; since it was in shades of pink as well as pink body blushing to give a softer more lady-like appearance. SHE is so cute. I think I'll make her a hair/head ornament like the one Ilia wore in the 1st Star Trek movie. You remember that...the beautiful bald woman. Maybe something on an elastic band with pink bows and lace and ribbon. Maybe even feathers. The only thing I wish she had come with was the little clam. I'll just have to make one from some air dry clay and paint it to look like the pictured one. Otherwise she IS adorable. They did a nice job on blushing her. I just have to add the pale pink eyelashes in place of their black ones.
Will post pix as soon as I can.

- ShadowHawke -


Guess since I have 2 Minimees and now an Otter, I'm a bit of a rogue too!.... I Like it !

 

I guess I'm a rogue, too? I have one on layaway at Denver Doll - and since I live close to the store, I've already visited and played with him. He's seriously cute. Mine has big grey eyes :-)

 

Here is a pix of my "lady" otter... Hozaki.

Love her pink blush and eyeshadow.

- ShadowHawke -