AnimeSuki Forums

Leo_Otaku · 2009-10-31, 00:59

At this comic convention here some guy is printed Doujin art on fabric posters, bags, buttons and keychains. It is fair or even legal? It is one thing yeah fanart and douji but then printing it again and charging more than what it was in the first place? He is charging around 30 dollars for a poster of someone elses's art. I will post the name tomorrow.

But is this fair, obviously not but is it really legal?

Evil Rick · 2009-10-31, 01:42

Hmmm... well, depending on the franchside he's using, you see, some franchsides don't mind the sell of produtcs, doujinshis or fan-made material based on thie franchsides (some conciderate it "free publicity") That's why you see doujinsjis being selled even when the artists and/or author has no contract or relation with the owner of the anime (or franchside) he is selling.

To resume, if the owner of the copy rights doesn't complain about, then it's not ilegal.

xris · 2009-10-31, 03:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evil Rick

To resume, if the owner of the copy rights doesn't complain about, then it's not ilegal.

This is incorrect. Copyright is copyright, just because the original creator isn't aware of the infringement doesn't make it "not illegal".

In this case I think the person who is selling the merchandise needs to have some sort of formal proof that he is selling the items with the approval of the original creator. If not, then it is illegal.

Evil Rick · 2009-10-31, 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by xris

This is incorrect. Copyright is copyright, just because the original creator isn't aware of the infringement doesn't make it "not illegal".

In this case I think the person who is selling the merchandise needs to have some sort of formal proof that he is selling the items with the approval of the original creator. If not, then it is illegal.

Well, if the guy was selling the material in a convention, I must presume he had some sort of "permission", in those conventions you need permission to sell your merchanside and to get that permission you must prov that you're not selling anything illegal.

Leo_Otaku · 2009-10-31, 13:58

At this convention anything is flying because nobody here knows a thing about it being Doujin. There is quite a large source of bootleg merchandise to be had. Every Hastsune Miku item there is a bootleg. They want 60 bucks for a bootleg figure. This stall has a mass mix of doujin from toho, naruto vocaloid and so forth so he would need a lot of permission.

I'll get the name and site and see if me can't try to identify some pics. The guy was quite rude at the stall >.> So I'm scared to ask him if he had formal permission. Would be really cool if he did get their persimission, but i somehow doubt it.

xris · 2009-10-31, 19:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evil Rick

Well, if the guy was selling the material in a convention, I must presume he had some sort of "permission", in those conventions you need permission to sell your merchanside and to get that permission you must prov that you're not selling anything illegal.

Just because he has permission to sell merchandise at the convention doesn't mean it is legal, convention staff aren't omniscient. When asked by the convention staff (if he was asked at all) all he would have to do is supply a few legal items as "proof", the rest would be assumed to be similar. It really is based on trust, the con staff would not have the time or interest to inspect every item.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo_Otaku

The guy was quite rude at the stall >.> So I'm scared to ask him if he had formal permission. Would be really cool if he did get their persimission, but i somehow doubt it.

I don't think it really is your responsibility to confront him. Raise the point with one of the convention organisers and point out that he is breaking the law by selling contraband items. If they show disinterest then suggest to them that the next step would be to inform the owners of the convention site that such activity is being allowed (with the knowledge of the organisers), beyond that contacting the local police might be in order to see what they suggest.

Evil Rick · 2009-10-31, 19:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by xris

Just because he has permission to sell merchandise at the convention doesn't mean it is legal, convention staff aren't omniscient. When asked by the convention staff (if he was asked at all) all he would have to do is supply a few legal items as "proof", the rest would be assumed to be similar. It really is based on trust, the con staff would not have the time or interest to inspect every item.

I'm pretty sure theses kind of people should be found in any convention. Even big ones like comic con. If it's so easy to find them, why they're not arrested or something? The copyrights owners should be aware that this kind of "piracy" is running, specially in such big and open to crowd things like conventions, why no action is being taken then?

Leo_Otaku · 2009-11-02, 00:25

Well an example over here is nobody knows anything. I even talked to some pro artists at their tables they hardly knew what doujin was. Think it depends on what people know to enforce any kind of regulation. The anime con here used to be full of bootlegs now they have banned them. But they only know of that stuff for DVDs and CDs other merchandise may look authentic to them.

I found the website www.geomangaart.com but he has no images, maybe I can get someone to take a pic of their posters.

2009-10-31, 00:59	Link #1
Leo_Otaku Rewrite of the Life Join Date: May 2003 Location: Canada Age: 37	Doujin Posters? Question... At this comic convention here some guy is printed Doujin art on fabric posters, bags, buttons and keychains. It is fair or even legal? It is one thing yeah fanart and douji but then printing it again and charging more than what it was in the first place? He is charging around 30 dollars for a poster of someone elses's art. I will post the name tomorrow. But is this fair, obviously not but is it really legal?

2009-10-31, 01:42	Link #2
Evil Rick Black Dragon Graphic Designer Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: In the Netherrealm, thinking who to betray next...	Hmmm... well, depending on the franchside he's using, you see, some franchsides don't mind the sell of produtcs, doujinshis or fan-made material based on thie franchsides (some conciderate it "free publicity") That's why you see doujinsjis being selled even when the artists and/or author has no contract or relation with the owner of the anime (or franchside) he is selling. To resume, if the owner of the copy rights doesn't complain about, then it's not ilegal. __________________

2009-10-31, 13:58	Link #5
Leo_Otaku Rewrite of the Life Join Date: May 2003 Location: Canada Age: 37	At this convention anything is flying because nobody here knows a thing about it being Doujin. There is quite a large source of bootleg merchandise to be had. Every Hastsune Miku item there is a bootleg. They want 60 bucks for a bootleg figure. This stall has a mass mix of doujin from toho, naruto vocaloid and so forth so he would need a lot of permission. I'll get the name and site and see if me can't try to identify some pics. The guy was quite rude at the stall >.> So I'm scared to ask him if he had formal permission. Would be really cool if he did get their persimission, but i somehow doubt it.

2009-11-02, 00:25	Link #8
Leo_Otaku Rewrite of the Life Join Date: May 2003 Location: Canada Age: 37	Well an example over here is nobody knows anything. I even talked to some pro artists at their tables they hardly knew what doujin was. Think it depends on what people know to enforce any kind of regulation. The anime con here used to be full of bootlegs now they have banned them. But they only know of that stuff for DVDs and CDs other merchandise may look authentic to them. I found the website www.geomangaart.com but he has no images, maybe I can get someone to take a pic of their posters.