Why are we always trying to accuse copies?

When a copy is blatantly obvious, we are fighting for what is right. If we are just pulling stuff out of nowhere than maybe the answer is for attention? Heck, maybe the accuser legitimately sees something. I am not really too sure why sometimes ridiculous claims are made. I suppose it is just the random, unpredictable nature of human kind...

 

I see it this way... unless you can put a doll side by side and have the exact same measurements and show it is a recast, don't complain about it. Different people will admire different styles and different techniques. Artists must learn from example. Whether it be photographs or a teacher, they will mix others' techniques into their own. This does not mean they're copying. This does not mean they're stealing. This just means they learned how to recreate a technique or be inspired by a technique. Now, if a doll was truly unique, say somebody's very original character with very distinct clothing and markings in one company... and another company made a doll just like it... yea, there's a case there.

Now among collectors, spats will raise so often because everybody wants to think their doll is unique, and not everybody is fond of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.

 

Actually, when casting a doll the final resin doll may be smaller than the original master depending on the silicone and resin you use. Here's an example of two of Lillycat's dolls cast in different types of resin. One is smaller than the other, but I think they came from the same molds.

 

I think people jump in to fast to accuse as well. Why... because they want to be the person to find a copy, or trying to protect their investment (in a pure sculpt), or just to cause trouble. I don't know, don't care. I really think that the companies should be left to handling things. Let the company in question know, and let the company decide if it's something that needs to be addressed or not. The companies have the ability to take legal action, and all it makes those out there 'fighting for the companies rights' is being a vigilante. If the company says hay yes this is a copy, then fine, alert others, but leave it to the companies to determine if something is a copy. They know their dolls far better then we do.

 

Of course, the logical result of this is that companies get snowed under with reports of copies (Dozens of people reporting the same sculpt, and people not being able to confer with each other about whether or not something is a copy) and have to spend time and manpower tracking down the bootleggers and dealing with them. Rather than just letting the community weed them out and cut off their funding.

Also - Think about how it could impact on buyers. If the only people allowed to say "XYZShop sells copied dolls" are the doll companies themselves, then a lot of bootleggers won't get caught, and people will end up buying more dolls from them in the meantime.

If nobody talks to each about which dolls they think are copies (Plagiaraised or recast), then people will end up accidentally buying them.

 

There is probably some of the "thrill of the hunt" involved, yes, but I think sometimes people just don't know what they're looking at. They latch onto a detail like the nose or the hand position, when the doll as a whole has a completely different shape, proportion or joints.

 

I agree partially with "thrill of the hunt." People feel so proud of themselves for finding copies and theivery, especially on Deviantart for example. People always parade around a popular piece's comments "this is stolen!" "this is stolen don't fave it~!" "I reported this because I know its stolen!". Yes, stolen things should be reported and resolved, but you don't need to parade it around and be all proud. You're reporting theft for the creator's benefit, not yours.

But often, whenever I see "___ is a copy of ___!!!!111", I don't agree. Yes, there might be influence, but I sometimes see big differences, like different chest shapes, different head shapes, different feet, etc that some people don't even notice. People jump on it because some of them feel like its their duty to.

 

"There's nothing more exhilarating than pointing out the shortcomings of others, is there?"

 

I think in a hobby like this, a certain amount of "ripping off" is to be expected. Everytime some makes a completly different way of making joints, other doll companies are going to notice if its a improvment and follow suit. I actulley didn't even know about the dust of doll/leekeworld thing till yesterday (didn't have the 'net till a couple monthes ago, lived under a rock lol) but I alway felt that way. Yes, recasts are wrong but I think in order to be a recast it need to be close to the same size. I can see why dust of doll is upset, but the only hard fact thing leekworld ripped off was the leg joint. And joints aren't "copy right-able" to me.

Dust of dust didn't even invent that joint, planetdoll had one before them, its just not as noticable because the doll is skinnier. When I found this out, I almost thought getting rid of the milkala body on my favorite doll, even though I love that body. But when I found out dust of doll was attacking an artist doll person too, that showed me that they're more interested in making a name for themselves and being general troublemakers IMO. Just because a doll has a big ass or same joint doesn't mean you need to sue, sue, sue. And I even really like the puns doll its adorable. But I wouldn't buy from them because of all this ho-ha.

yes leekeworld could of handled the whole thing a hellva lot better because it is obvious that it was inspired by them. But dust of dolls needs to worry about themselves more than what others doll companies are doing... but like I said, this is only my opioion...

 

yeah, I don't know why that is. I mean...you'd think people wouldn't do something for the sole purpose of causing drama. but you see it in every hobby, I guess BJD's are no different. there's always going to be someone looking to cause an argument.

 

I can understand that there is always going to be a lot of drama on this subject. It happens a lot in any creative industry where the inspiration that one person takes from another's style is often seen as a "rip off" or "stealing" by some and simple borrowing and influence of style by others. I always tend to err on the latter.
When it comes to dolls, unless someone has actually recast parts from another company's sculpt then it can only be one thing, an inspiration of style. When it comes to dolls clothing, unless someone has actually used the same exact pattern as another company then this too is inspiration (you get into a whole other area of copyright drama when it comes to 2 dimensional pattern to final sewn product though, and that's a very tricky legal area).
Personally, I can understand 100% that there is going to be a fair amount of inspiration taken between doll sculptors here and there when they admire the styles and various concepts and jointing systems of others. It's perfectly normal that you are going to be very interested in the work of others producing similar types of work and a fair amount of borrowing is going to happen here and there. Unless a recast of parts happens, and this is where I draw the line, then I personally don't have a problem with it. However, there are always going to be those who love the drama of screaming "ART THEFT" and go nuts trying to draw others to their cause. Waste of time & energy, if you ask me!

 

There's a lot of factors involved in this. I myself think it's because of the money involved. BJDs being the luxury goods they are, are expensive. And the higher the price of something, the more likely the more copies there will be from scavengers trying to make money. Being aware of that fact, we (the consumers) like to think that we matter a lot to the company and therefore act like security guards I guess, or traffic cops to be more accurate. "You're over the limit by 2mph!" But I think the biggest problem is that, aside from anthros, most BJDs are humanoid, and therefore are terribly limited to what they could possibly look like while still being aesthetically pleasing to the human eye, and bodywise, maintaining a good balance. I mean, all the good jointings have been taken. Companies strive to make the best posable bodies, and there has to be one best solution, right? So if everyone finds that, I guess everyones copying now. Besides, you see something you like, you tend to make it similar. It's how the psyche works.