Elmo Replica Here

[Fozzie Bear]

You'd pay a LOT more for it than that if it were real.

Actually, I don't think it's bad at all. I just don't have a necessity for other people's characters in my collection anymore; especially not when I need to build my own characters to do some shows with.

 

[KermieBaby47]

Hear hear!!!

I love having my own original puppet. I have an old Kermit that I made in High School, but I'd much rather perform Rufus.






Well, let's not get crazy. I would LOVE to have an actual Kermit and Rowlf, but that'll never happen. Would be nice to perform them for a living though! Will have to wait for the next round of auditions.

P.S. Kevin, you got mail!

 

[TopperFraggle]

Well I think it's still illegal. Just labeling it a replica is not enough to exempt yourself. The characters image and design is copyrighted. It's not illegal to reproduce it- just to sell it. Not that I care at all. The more I debate the issues of intelectual property and piracy, the more I think humanity is not so concerned with creating art as we are in possessing it. So I say good luck to this seller. Whether or not he makes money, he probably enjoyed the process...

And while I agree with jarrod that the elmo is just a bit off (just a bit though), it's pretty good. And if I were to try to make a muppet replica by trial and error, what should I do with the ones that are close but not quite there? They may not be good enough for me, but someone else might enjoy them.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

And it's perfectly legal since it's obviously not an exact replica built from any studio patterns. Why just look at all the replica Batman suits up this season for Halloween! **** I think I may bid on one of those too!! Ta Ta.

Just to correct/clarify this is "illegal" in the sense that it's copyright infringement and violating the rights of the owner (in this case Sesame Workshop). It doesn't matter if it's an exact replica or not, it resembles Elmo so it's considered a derivative work which is prohibited under copyright law. Sesame Workshop can sue the person or seek an injunction prohibiting them from making these but it's really up to them to act.

My understanding of ebay's TOS (although I haven't read them for awhile) is that they explicitly forbid replicas or items that are considering to be infringing on copyrights or trademarks and they pull these auctions once they're alerted to them.

People have all kinds of lame ideas and excuses about how to circumvent copyrights and trademarks but what it comes down to in the end is that whether you agree with it or not (and I have a lot of issues with the current copyright system) under U.S. law and the laws of most other countries you cannot profit from an artistic work owned by another person. It's just that simple.

 

[TopperFraggle]

Good point. Whether we think it's right or not, the law is pretty cut and dry.

 

[rtgentry]

http://cgi.ebay.com/professional-cr...ryZ18839QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The Seller just added another puppet to his auctions. What is this puppets name?

 

[FISH'N'WOLFE]

I think he's just a Whatnot, no character in particular. Gotta love the Ray Ban's!

 

[Fozzie Bear]

LOL! Isn't that Crissy?

 

[TopperFraggle]

I'd love to get that "fat blue" puppet and have him done up like the guy that was always Grover's customer at the restaurant. Funny how some of the simplest puppet designs make such impressions. If I was going to recreate one of the simple Sesame Street characters, my first choice would be Guy Smiley. That tall head shape is so unique to Henson.