I happened across a listing on ebay for a Kermit puppet, offered by a very new seller. I did report the item, but knowing ebay, nothing much will happen to the item or the seller. Is there some sort of thing that we puppet makers can do to discourage copying of designs, or is it just pretty much hopeless? Is there some sort of organisation we can report things to?

Feel free to report the listing with me, maybe we can get them banned...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270254077661

I couldn't even figure out who they were... their website is useless.

how odd! i just stumbled upon this same seller yesterday.
i agree. it's not nice to ripoff the hard work of so many other people. and then to ripoff your customers too!
cause come on man for almost $1000 i expect animal to look a little better than this http://cgi.ebay.com/Puppet-Professional-The-Muppet-Show-Ventriloquist-Prop_W0QQitemZ270254480765QQihZ017QQcategoryZ18839QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 

This seller is always ripping off Muppet work on ebay and despite getting banned many times, they keep creating new accounts & selling their replicas. Ebay cant do allot really and unless you know who they are they cant be reported for copyright infringement.

Cheers,
Dan

Na

Forgive me for saying........... but I used to feel the same way about this person until I talked with them.
This person has gone thru the courts about his or her right to make replicas and has instructed me that what they are doing although some may feel morally wrong, is absolutley legal.
This falls under a category of a artist interpretation of anothers work. I'm not a lawyer and am not siding one way or the other with what is morally right or wrong.
Everyone keeps trying to get them off Ebay but according to the owner of Vault of Puppets
http://www.vaultofpuppets.com/home.html They have took legal actions to stay on Ebay. They keep changing user names because of being harrased by other Ebay members.

I'm not sure it would do any good........ I think it should be left up to the Disney Corp. to decide if this person is infringing on copyrights. They are not taking food from my mouth so I can't say anything about them.
I personally would not reproduce any Muppet Characters myself , out of respect however I do admire the craftsmanship of Vault of Puppets. This is just a comment and I am by no means wanting to join in with anyone to obtain justice. That is what the legal system is for.

I do understand those that are Muppet fans and the frustration that this brings to them. Just my 2 cent worth.

Billy D.

Well, I defer to your judgement Billy, and trust your feelings about the person. While I agree that they're not necessarily taking money from people's mouths, it does continue and encourage the concept of replicas to a more ignorant public. I'm not a Muppet fan (I love Henson's work as much as the next person, but I'm more of a Henson creatures fan than a muppet fan), but it saddens me to see someone's hard work being copied.

If a fake Mona Lisa were on ebay, the entire world would call it a tragedy and the person arrested in seconds. Why is it ok to replicate other designs?

(I guess I'm just grumbling to myself more than anything... I had a similar conversation a while ago where someone posted the entire contents of a newspaper article on a forum - and couldn't understand why the article was copyrighted and that they're legally not allowed to do that. There truly are people out there who don't even understand the concept of 'copyright')

I don't know how the law are in America or another countries but I know that if you change a little bit for example an extra seem it isn't copying. It isn't nice but he is really good that is what I can see and I saw another puppets on the internet, not a muppet, for the price of $600,-.

Yes, this law exists in other places too. However, I can't see how these could be a little bit different - the listing, wording, pictures, etc. lead you to believe you'd be purchasing an exact copy. It's misleading...

I guess my biggest problem is that no where on the listing does it state that it's similar and not a copy. ebay and law enforcement agencies draw the line: if it says in the listing that it's not a genuine, or that it's not an exact copy, then the person will be let off. If however, the listing is misleading and suggests it's the real thing, they're more likely to prosecute or take other action.

If a fake Mona Lisa were on ebay, the entire world would call it a tragedy and the person arrested in seconds. Why is it ok to replicate other designs?

You mean like this?
160261929443

CITIZENS ARREST!!!!!!!    LOL

All joking aside...

Na, I see what you're saying and I would agree as well.

You mean like this?

Ah, you make my point for me: it says 'print'... which in ebay's eyes, and usually within law, it's ok. However, even then, wouldn't you need permission to make prints of the Mona Lisa?

I know, I know, I'm griping... :P

There's a fine line, and I just personally think Puppet Vault crosses it.