Ugly picture frames......

[bettyboop0398]

Hello;I just found this hideous picture frame....Is there any way we can stop this seller?

[fortheloveofbet]

Unfortunately.......There is not a prayer of stopping them Only the legal department can and they could seem to care less about copyright infringement or keeping their copyright for that matter.

They won't even listen when we tell them a seller on Ebay is mass producing unlicensed items of Betty by the thousands! (Acmejunkcompany)

I had posted on my legal forum today and I was told that if you inform the owner that their copyright is being violated, and it is ignored, they stand a chance of losing it.

What a shame!:mad:

[fortheloveofbet]

And it looks like the picture is manufactured over seas, I doubt the legal department has coverage there.
To expand copyrights overseas is VERY expensive and most of the time won't hold up in court anyway. Plus, the Hearst Corp. won't stop people right here in the US from violating their copyright, why would they go overseas to do it?

[lucia992]

that is the worst photo frame ever
it is sooo not nice
who would buy somethin like that
lucia
xx

[mgchan]

And it looks like the picture is manufactured over seas, I doubt the legal department has coverage there.
To expand copyrights overseas is VERY expensive and most of the time won't hold up in court anyway. Plus, the Hearst Corp. won't stop people right here in the US from violating their copyright, why would they go overseas to do it?
It's sad that because you were burned with the drawer pulls, and your dissatisfaction with the response to the seller, you feel you have the right to bash the legal department and The Hearst Corporation. Sites/locations are constantly being raided overseas for unlicensed BB merchandise.

It's not our fault the seller is still in business. The fault is with consumers buying from them and looking for a bargain. Buy from a legitimate source.

[bettyboopfan]

Hello;I just found this hideous picture frame....Is there any way we can stop this seller?

Oh my!! That is a horrible looking picture frame!!

[The Moocher]

The item appears to be manufactured in Vietnam, but there will probably be a distributor in the USA or Western Europe.

If a supplier can't be frightened off by threats of legal action, then an actual prosecution can take a very long time. Copyright law is complex. Legal action is slow and expensive.

A seller or distributor can often decide the game isn't worth it if enough members of the general public question the seller and ask if the image is licensed.

We can all help, but please don't expect an item to disappear from ebay as soon as it's reported.

Mooch

[fortheloveofbet]

We can all help, but please don't expect an item to disappear from ebay as soon as it's reported.

Reported almost 6 months ago! I have watched this person sell and sell! She will tell people they are licsened items and thats the sad part. Other unsuspected buyers who think they are getting an original item are taken for fools and no one is willing to stop them.

[fortheloveofbet]

Copyright law is complex. Legal action is slow and expensive.

Yes, I agree, but once a legal department is notified, it only takes 24 hours to take them down through Ebay. I am part of the VERO program and know the laws regarding it. So Hearst, why not do it?

[mgchan]

fortheloveofbet > See my response here:

http://www.bettyboop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2669&page=2

[ACDCGRL15]

oh man that is not really a good lookin boop right there.

ACDC

[Bikerbettyboop]

Someone really took liberal license with that photo frame!! I hope no one buys it thinking it's a genuine item!

[The Moocher]

I've seen that style of drawing before, mostly in items designed for the Far East market. I think someone is chancing their arm and trying to get some extra worldwide sales on ebay.

There really is very little that can be done about articles made in Vietnam for sale in China, Malaysia and Japan. The Eastern attitude to intelectual property is not the same as in the US and Europe.

Also, the situation regarding licensing (especially in Japan) is murky in the extreme. Betty Boop was huge in Japan in the 1930s, and is one of the main influences on modern Japanese "magma" animation. There were spin-off deals and some shorts were remastered for the Japanese market and dubbed into Japanese (for example, Mask-a-Raid was colorized, dubbed, and redrawn so that Betty's doggie ears became earings). A Language of My Own was aimed at the Japanese market as much as the US one.

There then followed a number of disagreements between the US and Japan that were a bit more serious than copyright discussions, and led eventually to war.

The 1960s and 1970s remastering and colorization of Betty Boop cartoons was done in South Korea. Again licensing and spin-off deals may have been agreed in this country.

As a result pre-war licensing and even franchising agreements may well exist in the Far East and even have legal validity, although King Features' lawyers might not agree. It is therefore very difficult to stop Far Eastern manufacturers producing goods with an Oriental take on Betty's image, although the sale of these goods in Western outlets can be prevented.

The Internet and ebay add a whole new dimension to the argument. Sometimes I'm glad I'm not a Copyright Lawyer, although I suspose it's a pretty steady job :)

Mooch