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Dealers Room Merch

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 12:22 pm
by Mirotic
This is something I probably should have brought up years ago when I first noticed, but where is the line drawn between "fanmade" and "fake/bootleg" in the dealers room?

Does it have to be marked as "official" but be fanmade, or an impersonation of official merch in general?

Re: Dealers Room Merch

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 1:33 pm
by pulsedemon
Fan art is generally super clearly different from counterfeit products. The notion of 'parody' can be a little confusing at times, for sure. Manufacturing scale can also be a factor in fan art and stuff. Parody stuff largely gets a pass since it's transformative, but if someone holds a license on something and is uncomfortable, I'm going to have it pulled. If something just uses a logo or emblem and doesn't actually do or say anything to act as some kind of parody, I'm having that pulled. Generally, nobody really cares much about like fan art prints and small handmade charms and things from a copyright/licensing angle apart from someone essentially plagiarizing other work.

This is all entirely different from something counterfeit that is trying to pass as the 'actual' product. If someone has a bunch of Nendoroid figures with lousy paintjobs and pieces that don't quite fit right without packaging, I'm having that pulled. Counterfeit discs or like mass-produced keychains or charms with packaging that doesn't indicate licensing agreements are all right out. Copies of real licensed products that appear to be genuine can be hard to spot, but if I notice them, I have them pulled. A lot of times, if you notice one thing that's a problem in someone's booth, you're likely to find more.

Does this get to your question? I just want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding or like not answering you properly!

Re: Dealers Room Merch

Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 8:06 am
by Mirotic
Maybe I would make more sense if I gave you an example.

Shirts - not fan designed, but using the official design.

Posters - selling pictures just printed out and laminated, official, not fan-designed.

Does that make sense? otl

Re: Dealers Room Merch

Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 12:26 pm
by pulsedemon
So just counterfeits and unlicensed use of someone else's work?

Re: Dealers Room Merch

Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 5:38 pm
by Mirotic
Definitely unlicensed use of images. And I'm nearly sure they were selling counterfeit shirts as well.

Re: Dealers Room Merch

Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 6:21 pm
by pulsedemon
Is there something actually specific you're talking about? It seems like you're talking around something. If you don't want to be explicit about it on the forum, you can either PM me or hit me up through the contact form.

It's certainly possible I can miss something if I don't actually know what it is. There's a lot of stuff in there and I don't think it's reasonable to expect someone to know something about every single thing. With that said, if there's something I missed and can keep an eye out for it next time, that's super useful to know!