It seems to me that ethically, Universal is treading muddy water, but that Susan legally tripped the wire.
The best outcome for both parties would be to settle and slap a gag order on the whole stinky business.
Where's the praising and extolling of my virtues? Where's the love?
Host ,'Not Fade Away'
Firefly 4: Also, we can kill you with our brains
Discussion of the Mutant Enemy series, Firefly, the ensuing movie Serenity, and other projects in that universe. Like the other show threads, anything broadcast in the US is fine; spoilers are verboten and will be deleted if found.
Allyson - Nov 01, 2006 5:28:34 am PST #8951 of 10001
Wait, is this real-world child support, where the money goes to buy food for the kids, or MRA fantasyland child support where the women just buy Ferraris and cocaine? -Jessica
Topic!Cindy - Nov 01, 2006 5:39:37 am PST #8952 of 10001
What is even happening?
I think so too, Allyson. I think Universal is being a stinker, particularly since they asked the fans to push the movie, and bought into the whole "it's because of our desire to work with Joss Whedon in the future that we're giving him this chance the fans that there's a movie," hype and used it to market the movie.
I think if she took everything down and got a lawyer, she could make this go away. They don't really want to take her to court.
Strega - Nov 01, 2006 6:00:07 am PST #8953 of 10001
More studios than ever are embracing fans as a cheap way of publicity. And that's great. However, those studios need to think about it a bit more.
Or maybe the fans do, since they're the ones with the complaints afterwards.
If she's genuinely surprised to discover that yes, it is bad to market original merchandise in a way that makes it sound like it's licensed... Jesus, I don't even know what to say. That's why people pay big money for a merchandise liscense. But it sounds to me like Universal's filthy desire to make a few bucks off of a property they own (and which the fans themselves hoped would be profitable, right?) is interfering with some fan's noble desire to make a few bucks off of a property they don't own. So there must be something I'm still missing, because that'd just be dumb.
I remember in the B5 usenet groups, occasionally someone would pop in to tell JMS about some unauthorized merchandise for sale, so he could sic Warner Bros on 'em. See, because they were fans, some of them thought that it was a bad thing to steal from the people who made the thing they liked. We've come so far since then.
Kevin - Nov 01, 2006 6:43:44 am PST #8954 of 10001
Never fall in love with somebody you actually love.
Or maybe the fans do, since they're the ones with the complaints afterwards.
...The studios are the ones with the legal complaints. They had absolutely no boundaries during the years it went through production to release. That would be, I suspect, a large part of the reason why there's so much bootleg Firefly stuff.
I remember in the B5 usenet groups, occasionally someone would pop in to tell JMS about some unauthorized merchandise for sale, so he could sic Warner Bros on 'em.
Uhm, I remember the opposite - I'm pretty sure JMS pulled the WB lawyers *off* fans several times. WB, at the time, hired a fan to run the official website, and also set up AcmeCity, a site which encouraged the use of pictures and images on fan web sites and explicitly allowed the creation of logos and images without fear of law suits.
Completely different ball game to selling shit, though.
Strega - Nov 01, 2006 7:10:18 am PST #8955 of 10001
Completely different ball game to selling shit, though.
Yeah, that's kind of my point. Which is why I used the words "unauthorized merchandise for sale" in my post. Which you quoted, right before you started "Uhm"ing at me about fansites as if that had anything to do with it.
If your memory needs jogging: [link] [link] [link]
Kevin - Nov 01, 2006 7:16:41 am PST #8956 of 10001
Never fall in love with somebody you actually love.
If your memory needs jogging: [link] [link] [link]
...which have nothing to do with shirts, which is the issue at hand.
aurelia - Nov 01, 2006 7:21:22 am PST #8957 of 10001
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.
Beverly - Nov 01, 2006 7:27:28 am PST #8958 of 10001
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
Completely off the present topic, but for fan-type-folk, Alan Tudyk guest stars on CSI this week. I saw a couple of clips. There's no Wash there.
Allyson - Nov 01, 2006 8:12:08 am PST #8959 of 10001
Wait, is this real-world child support, where the money goes to buy food for the kids, or MRA fantasyland child support where the women just buy Ferraris and cocaine? -Jessica
Forgive my foggy brain. If Susan is in the legal wrong of it, what's the brouhaha?
I'm insanely devoted to fandom, and I like Susan personally a great deal (she is a fantastic artist), but she seems clearly in the wrong.
The marketing bill is amusing, but from an ethical standpoint (my own ethical standpoint) promoting the thing you love comes with no strings attached.
There was an amount of exploitation in Universal's own campaign that fed the beast by giving fans a sense of ownership over the flick. I have an ethics issues with that, and feel that Universal should quietly settle the matter because they look foolish.
Topic!Cindy - Nov 01, 2006 8:23:21 am PST #8960 of 10001
What is even happening?
which have nothing to do with shirts, which is the issue at handI'm confused. Didn't Strega bring that up to counter your refutation of her B5 point?