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NEWS: Japanese Man Arrested for Fake Anime/Game Stickers


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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1035
PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 10:19 am Reply with quote
gartholamundi wrote:
i can totally see buying a PC tower in the shape of Totoro. Shocked

stick the CDs in his mouth. Very Happy

I'd buy it! (Bootleg or not...)

As far as I see, why not let people sell home-made knitted Totoros or whatever, require a clear "unofficial goods" notice, and set up a royalty system like cover charges for bands. More money and products for everyone, and no need for confusion over what is and isn't official. Would also make it easier to turn public opinion against real counterfeits.
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shaggyglasses



Joined: 18 Sep 2009
Posts: 46
PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:38 pm Reply with quote
Sven Viking wrote:
As far as I see, why not let people sell home-made knitted Totoros or whatever, require a clear "unofficial goods" notice, and set up a royalty system like cover charges for bands. More money and products for everyone, and no need for confusion over what is and isn't official. Would also make it easier to turn public opinion against real counterfeits.

Hard for me to explain. Maybe because the current IP owners aren't being notified about other people "bootlegging" their product. If I were to "bootleg" something, why would I want to notify the IP owner and pay royalty? To make less money than if I hadn't told them?

Having the "unofficial goods" sticker would be nice to differentiate the "real" and the "fake". But even if it were placed, how many people would even care or take notice? How many people would buy an unofficial version of a sticker over the official version? Would people associate the poorer quality "bootleg" with the actual company or IP?

As for the article itself. Companies who see people counterfeiting their products or creating bootlegs in a profitable market should simply enter into their market to compete with an official, higher quality, product.
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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1035
PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:07 pm Reply with quote
shaggyglasses wrote:
Sven Viking wrote:
As far as I see, why not let people sell home-made knitted Totoros or whatever, require a clear "unofficial goods" notice, and set up a royalty system like cover charges for bands. More money and products for everyone, and no need for confusion over what is and isn't official. Would also make it easier to turn public opinion against real counterfeits.

Hard for me to explain. Maybe because the current IP owners aren't being notified about other people "bootlegging" their product. If I were to "bootleg" something, why would I want to notify the IP owner and pay royalty? To make less money than if I hadn't told them?

Exactly the same could be said about cover bands, and current bootlegging is causing the same damage either way. It'd have to be policed as always, but those going legit would provide revenue. Merchant reference numbers could be required on applicable sites or auctions in order to allow for tracking. Obviously I'm not meaning this as something that would affect bootleg street vendors in the Ukraine or whatever.

Quote:
Having the "unofficial goods" sticker would be nice to differentiate the "real" and the "fake". But even if it were placed, how many people would even care or take notice? How many people would buy an unofficial version of a sticker over the official version? Would people associate the poorer quality "bootleg" with the actual company or IP?

I was talking about non-competing products where there is no official equivalent (such as the stickers mentioned in this article), but admittedly there would be complications in arranging that. The purpose of the Unofficial notice was to avoid associations of quality. Perhaps everyone would be too stupid to notice a notice, as you suggest, but with current rampant bootlegging there is no notice to notice. It'd still be an improvement.

Quote:
As for the article itself. Companies who see people counterfeiting their products or creating bootlegs in a profitable market should simply enter into their market to compete with an official, higher quality, product.

True, but they frequently don't. 'Console skins' certainly wouldn't go over well with Miyizaki, who hates all merchandising. Also, many markets are too small (Totoro tower case) or awkward (hand-knitted Totoro) to be seen as worth their time, but could still be monetized by a set of individuals.
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ArsenicSteel



Joined: 12 Jan 2010
Posts: 2370
PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:46 pm Reply with quote
RestlessOne wrote:
Rinkwolf wrote:

What are you selling these for, 40 cents a piece

If you take the time to read the article, the guy was suspected of making more than 2 million yen. 34 US bucks for two stickers is pretty pricey in and of itself.

Normally I wouldn't care; bootlegs exist and there's nothing you can do about it. The people selling them are often out of the country (in this case out of Japan), anyway. But 2 million yen? From Chinese bootlegs he's probably claiming to be the real deal? And he's selling them in Japan? Jail time might be a little harsh, but some form of punishment should be issued.


34 bucks US per skin and made about $22,000 US.
Yarp that guy is a big fish.

Looking at the size of his gains means he must be the source!
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Ai no Kareshi



Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Posts: 561
Location: South Africa
PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 1:34 am Reply with quote
I wonder if they're going after the source of the problem...
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gartholamundi



Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 316
Location: Gainesville, FL
PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 7:05 am Reply with quote
Sven Viking wrote:
gartholamundi wrote:
i can totally see buying a PC tower in the shape of Totoro. Shocked

stick the CDs in his mouth. Very Happy

I'd buy it! (Bootleg or not...)



far out ...! now all i need to do is learn how to mold and color plastic, and make sure there are enough vents to not add additional heat to the PC innards.

hrmm ... Wink
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14746
PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 2:07 pm Reply with quote
gartholamundi wrote:
Sven Viking wrote:
gartholamundi wrote:
i can totally see buying a PC tower in the shape of Totoro. Shocked

stick the CDs in his mouth. Very Happy

I'd buy it! (Bootleg or not...)



far out ...! now all i need to do is learn how to mold and color plastic, and make sure there are enough vents to not add additional heat to the PC innards.

hrmm ... Wink


I'm partial to Pom Poko myself.... Laughing
But ask this guy at #1 for advice:

"The Top 10 weirdest case mods"

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gartholamundi



Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 316
Location: Gainesville, FL
PostPosted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 6:58 am Reply with quote
enurtsol wrote:
gartholamundi wrote:
Sven Viking wrote:
gartholamundi wrote:
i can totally see buying a PC tower in the shape of Totoro. Shocked

stick the CDs in his mouth. Very Happy

I'd buy it! (Bootleg or not...)



far out ...! now all i need to do is learn how to mold and color plastic, and make sure there are enough vents to not add additional heat to the PC innards.

hrmm ... Wink


I'm partial to Pom Poko myself.... Laughing
But ask this guy at #1 for advice:

"The Top 10 weirdest case mods"



at first i thought that photo was photoshopped, actually ... but then a colleague of mine and i went through the "making of" shots ... that is just totally wicked cool ... i mean, of all the characters and images in anime to chose from i personally could do without a fanservice panties-shot computer case, but the sculpting involved is absolutely amazing, and completely ... wah ... well, just freakin amazing ...
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