When is it alright to accuse someone of copying your doll/someone else's doll?

I think that you need to be absolutely certain your work has been copied before making an accusation, and PMing a polite inquiry into the inspiration behind a doll is much better than obnoxiously calling someone out - especially when you could be wrong!

 

I suppose if there were a striking similarity involving two or more of my dolls, or the other person seems to be purchasing the same dolls in my family soon after seeing them on my blog, that would make me uncomfortable. It isn't a crime, but I understand why it makes people uncomfortable.

 

I don't think that it's ever really alright...I think that that chance that someone would actually intentionally copy another persons doll is fairly low. If two dolls are similar, it's probably a coincidence...

I, personally, am terrified of being accused of copying. When I find a sculpt that would suit a certain OC of mine, I'm always nervous that there's going to be another pale loli with curly grey hair and red eyes, and that I'm going to be accused to copying. :\

 

I am always flattered when someone likes something of mine and do not mind if they copy. If it bothers me that much I will just change my doll to something else as I am a very creative person and have many ideas when it comes to my dolls. Also I would not assume anyone is copying my doll because we all buy alot of the same sculpts and outfits and I think alot of us get ideas from eachother to make our own creations. I would think my dolly has a long lost twin.

 

Urm.....I copied a doll.
Very openly. The doll the girl had got a custom face up but I liked the stock face up.
The doll in question had an AMAZING wig that I fell in love with (One of my favourite colours) and I asked the girl (Who I talk to on flickr and twitter) if she would mind me buying the doll and the wig.
She told me she had no problem as she doesn't own the sculpt. She even told me the exact wig. Gave me links. Helped me when i found the doll on here and ALSO sent me clothes for free!!
The person in question is the NICEST person i have ever met. I have only had the doll a few months and I love her! I am so happy to own a doll so simiar and I love that the original girl has a custom face up and mine is stock.
I still feel bad for copying but I don't really give my dolls a character - I find naming dolls hard enough - and I only take a couple of photos of my dolls mainly for my personal benefit.
The girl with the original doll is so much better at photographing and styling and everything and I am just super happy that she didn't seem to mind me getting the doll.
My girl has two wigs and a different pair of eyes to the original. And a different face up now obviously and everytime I see her she makes me smile and - for ME - that's what the hobby is about. I do love getting comments on my photographs on flickr but mainly I like coming home and switching off from real life sometimes!
Anyway there are so many different opinions on here it has been great to read.

 

i guess for me it isn't really a worry, if someone 'copied' me i'd just be flattered, its hard because i love how good migidoll Jina boys suit the emo-ish look, and so thats what i'd aim for, but then you see so many of them, but hey thats what attracted me to them in the first place, i think people need to just chill and love their dolls, i wouldn't get too up in arms over it, people in real life aren't unique snow flakes, can't really expect dolls to be either

 

if they are copying your dolls to make a profit, then absolutely. it is your design, your creation and you worked hard on it. i don't appreciate when i work on a project only to have it copied and resold because it was easier for them than having to make up their own design.
otherwise, i think if they just copied your doll because they really love your design and wanted it for themselves, then its fine to use as inspiration.

 

This is an interesting issue to come across. I have quite a few different doll ideas in mind to fit different characters I have in Various Stories. I write original short stories, novels, fanfics with original characters. One of the dolls that I am planning on creating is Sesshomaru in both a young/teen form and adult form. I'm also sure I'm not the only one to do so and I have also seen other anime characters on here as well. One of my main stories has a female elf that is representative of a character I played in an online rpg game for a good 8-10 years straight until the character was killed because she refused to fight the person she loved and attempted to simply dodge his attacks while she worked to free him of the demon posessing him. In the end she ended up dying in his arms but the demon managing to mortally wound her was what caused him to be able to gain control long enough for the priests and her to exorcise the demon out of him. She died while being held in his arms and making her is going to be a special thing for me. So while my backstory is unique the concept and image I have in mind may well easily fit what others have done.

I have before been accused of copying someone else in a virtual world with a simple thing as a group name. I am a bit of a japanese buff (to the point that some call me a weeaboo). I'm fascinated by the culture but I know far more about my own culture and traditions (is Irish and first generation American born on my father's side.) I know Irish dance, I know many cultural dishes from ireland and dishes that were popular when many of the Irish first moved her in mass, and other things. But in this virtual world I took a word which meant moonlight and selected a particular dialect because I liked the way it sounded better but another place accused me of copying the name for their village (which was the core word. There's was Village of the Moon mine was the Okiya of Moonlight) and that others would confuse my okiya/ochaya group with their place. After contacting me I included a disclaimer that my group was not apart of their place and that it was a case of similar names and that they could not be held accountable for my group and my group was not a representation of their place.

So being one that had been accused of copying an idea it's better to ask the person privately in my honest opinion and would wager it best to word it politely and as an inquiry instead of an accusation. If something happened, specially with one of my special dolls I plan to get down the line, I'd likely pm/im/contact the other person and go: Hey I saw so and so here and it looks alot like my so and so here. Would you mind sharing your inspiration for your so and so?

Short Answer to Question- I don't think it's ever okay to flat out accuse someone of copying. Ask first, you may find out that they didn't set out to copy your character. Or you may find out you had a fan or that they did. Ask always, and politely.

 

decided to delete

 

Now what exactly does this show? I'm confused?

 

Sorry , i meant to illustrate how easy one could get away with stealing someone`s inage of their bjd . In this case it was a lati yellow doll on a tiny mirror my classmate brought to school . She didn`t know it was a bjd.So the ppl that sold it to her are making money off of somebody else`s work . It could as well been my picture , or your picture or anybody elses .

But I gusee it`s irrelevant

 

I was wondering about this myself, since I've seen a doll whose look I really loved, but it was a custom face-up done by the doll's owner. I've been debating asking whether or not they would be comfortable doing the same face-up on mine when I get him (even the same model) . So far I haven't said anything. I think part of the reason I'm so nervous about asking is because I know I WOULD feel a little weird if someone specifically set about trying to copy the exact look of a doll I owned. But I don't think I'd be upset if they did. Just a little confused. At least, I can sort of understand in regards to a face, since an outfit and a wig can change a lot.

 

I do not think that copying some other's dolls is a good idea, but recently I saw one custom BJD who looks like Bill Kaulitz from Tokio Hotel. I liked him so much and wanted to obtain the same. Originally, he was Souldoll Lampard. Isn't he amazing! I am thinking about making the same.

 

Ehhh... I don't know. On one hand, I can totally understand coincidence--great minds think alike and all that. I can get it if someone else has a Feilian that looks just like mine, as she's barely changed at all since I got her default. I can understand if another person has a time-traveller with a top hat. And any number of possible combinations is OK too, I get it that sometimes people get inspired or it happens unintentionally. But if I were to see another time-traveller with the same outfit, the same wig, the same custom eyes, and the same faceup as Amser, that's when I'd start to become a bit miffed. If they stole his personality and backstory--I'd probably unleash unholy rage. Really, it all depends on how far they go with their copying. Imitation may be the highest form of flattery, but it's the lowest form of originality.

 

I don't really know. I mean, I've seen x amount of dolls with white fur wigs in blue dresses - my own included - but I wouldn't say they were copies of each other, even if they were the same mold with similar face ups and eye colors.

In my case, I've been looking for this particular wig for my doll that no one makes, so I'm going to custom order it. But even if I saw someone else's doll in a wig of the same supposedly custom style, I wouldn't accuse them of copying me. Even if they were wearing the same color eyes and their doll was also albino.

And even of their doll was wearing the same styled outfit or even had a similar name, I think I would be more flattered then upset. I would probably PM them privately and tell them that I really like their doll and that my doll is similar, because I'd give them the benefit of a doubt. Maybe they've never seen my doll before and they just have the same ideas as me?

I wouldn't flat out say, "You copied my doll!"

 

as most people have discussed its not really appropriate to accuse someone of copying your doll for minor details, especially in a market such as this, where most collectors are buying from the same place, similarities are BOUND to pop up.

If you see a doll IDENTICAL to your own, its fair enough to raise questions (unless of course its based on an anime or game character, then the similarities are warrented.)

I see it as acceptable to 'borrow idea's' or take insperaton from others, but i dont think it would be right to outright COPY a doll.

As for accusing someone for copying someone ELSES doll, i dont think its anyones place to do that bar the actual doll owner.

 

Im not sure.... it seems to me in a market as small as this one is it wouldn't be hard to combine all of this. Or have repeats of the same concept. There are only so many ways to do something that after a point one is bound to run into something that seems identical.

Recently I ran into someone that lives in chicago that looked exactly like me and we even have similiar clothing styles. It was freaky and I know I'm NOT a twin. (Our personalities however were vastly different)

 

I don't think its right accuse anyone of anything I mean most likely they didn't even know they were doing it or what they thought was their own idea cropped up somewhere else i think it happens and unless u are really really sure as the doll owner that someone else copied u I wouldn't its just mean and kinda rude to do.

 

I don't think it's really possible to accuse copying when it comes to similar faceup, sculpt, clothes, accessories, etc.

There are so many owners out there, and so few companies (if you think relatively) that it wouldn't be that hard to get the same sculpt and skintone, with blue eyes, a long blonde wig, and the same clothes from Dollmore/Dollheart as someone else out there (for example).

I think the only line is crossed is when they do all that AND develop a character that is eerily similar to yours.

But all in all, I think copying is just another form of flattery. Don't be hatin', this is just a hobby.

 

Well, I've just been told that someone wants to copy my Rozen Maiden twins. I know they are not my characters, but the thing is this person gave a bunch of my dolls pics to the make up artist to copy my make ups on their Thor heads. If that is not copying someone's work, than I don't know what it is!