Vault of Puppets Lawsuit

[CoOKiE]

well lots of people like Hand guns and dont have lisences or the proper training, ,lots of people like controlled substances, lots of people like lots of things, but we live in a society of laws, and just because you and a few other people want something doesnt make it it right or legal,

wow are you really complaing about the price of a hand made illegal replica being sold essentialy on the black market , and you are upset that it cost more than one hundred dollars,

aside from the fact that supply and demand are pretty basic concepts in any economy, do u think real muppets cost less? do you think any pro is going to make a custom made original creation for less?

Where did i say that i was on their side? I mentioned that i clearly would not like my work being ripped off as well.

I said that there are people, like myself, who wish to own a muppet puppet replica... and he gave people the chance to.

"do you think any pro is going to make a custom made original creation for less?"

And THAT is EXACLTY why i complained. Its not the real thing. Fozzie and Miss Piggy look horrible. So, yea. I'm complaining. Thethe money he was askin for was crazy.

I'd pay that if they were film used puppets... cuz the price of that would be even higher. But for a knock off? You're going to tell me that his prices were fair for the crappy job? I think not.

 

[muppetperson]

It seems that his site has been taken down. Good thing, I really hope Disney stops this guy from making his slightly off Muppet replicas at outlandish prices. I wouldn't buy any puppet off that guy. Period.

He is still selling his original creations via ebay.

 

[MGov]

But they don't enforce anything. It is the copyright holder's duty to pursue the matter from beginning to end. The FBI doesn't really do much of anything as far as copyright law is concerned. However, they do have that nifty warning for home videos.

Obviously you've never had the F.B.I. visit your place of employment to investigate missing pre-release copies of a major summer blockbuster.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I find the whole 'arguing on behalf of a corporation' thing rather laughable.
If you're going to be so hardcore about copyright infringements, you wouldn't watch and fav things on youtube that clearly aren't the account holders copyright, ie; muppet show videos.

This is an excellent point, but YouTube is a unique case because it has struck deals with most content providers that compensate them for uploaded content. For example, most of the record labels allows their music to appear in user-created videos on YouTube if they are non-commercial. And if you upload a music video from, say, Shakira a box will appear beside the video saying something like "This video contains content from Shakira's channel" and an ad will run, the profits from which are split between YouTube and Shakira's label.

I'm not sure what Disney's deal with YouTube is, but as RavageFrackle says they are aggressively using YouTube to promote the puppets so they are probably allowing the uploading (for now anyway) because it helps them.

But they don't enforce anything. It is the copyright holder's duty to pursue the matter from beginning to end. The FBI doesn't really do much of anything as far as copyright law is concerned. However, they do have that nifty warning for home videos.

Actually, the FBI gets deeply involved with copyright infringement cases.

 

[Luke]

So these individuals have been named, and puppeteering is a small world - so anyone know them? Have they worked for Henson or Puppetheap?

I always thought it was a single guy, never realised it was a team of people

 

[muppetperson]

Could it be the same guy with different alias's.He changes his ebay ID frequently.

 

[MGov]

Hey, just realized, I've been to jury duty at the same court house the suit has been filed in.

 

[rtgentry]

lol but you are too biased to be chosen for that case!

 

[Kevin the Frog]

Geeze ravage, I thought we weren't going to have this debate again and I come back a week or two later and it's right where we started. It doesn't have to get so passionate, but one of the problems I have with the logic here is that muppet replicas are bad, muppet videos on youtube are bad but stilll allowed, and trading of copyrighted Muppet MP3s on muppetcentral.com is not discouraged or even mentioned, but popular. Muppet replicas are illegal, I get it, but keep your passion objective at least.

This is an excellent point, but YouTube is a unique case because it has struck deals with most content providers that compensate them for uploaded content. For example, most of the record labels allows their music to appear in user-created videos on YouTube if they are non-commercial. And if you upload a music video from, say, Shakira a box will appear beside the video saying something like "This video contains content from Shakira's channel" and an ad will run, the profits from which are split between YouTube and Shakira's label.

I'm not sure what Disney's deal with YouTube is, but as RavageFrackle says they are aggressively using YouTube to promote the puppets so they are probably allowing the uploading (for now anyway) because it helps them.

 

[frogboy4]

Actually, the FBI gets deeply involved with copyright infringement cases.

Yes, but the FBI doesn't sit around trolling YouTube and Amazon etc. The copyright holder must locate the infringement come to them and it is a process that only/usually those with deep pockets can afford to pursue. That was my point. If it's Joe Shmoe's registered and copyrighted indie short film that is being ripped off it will be harder to "make a federal case" out of it. However, if it's anything Lucas or Coppola it usually goes away swiftly. It isn't the prestige as much as the money behind it.

The point I was making can be summed up in this random example:
Let’s say music from your favorite recording artist is being heavily sampled in a television commercial without permission or payment. If the artist turns a blind eye to that enough times it weakens his case down the line if he finally decides to object. It shouldn’t but it does. That’s why it is important for every artist to be their own watchdog and it helps to have a team of lawyers. Then, and only then, a case is filed with the FBI. The recording artist or his representatives would not just call up FBI headquarters and tell them to turn on Channel 6.