| COPYRIGHT AND COPYWRONG Merchandise - official and other |
| Dept. for Bucks and Moola |
 |
 |
|
| Most of us are born with a merchandise gene. There's nothing we can do about it - once we take a liking for a TV show or movie, we feel the irresistible need to surround ourselves with mugs, mousepads, t-shirts, action figures, autographs and tea-pot-warmers showing the features of our favourite characters. We can't help it. We have money, and WE WANT TO SPEND IT! Alas, we like Stargate - which means that all we could spend our hard-earned money on when it comes to official, licenced merchandise are collector cards (is really anybody actually collecting them?), dull t-shirts, a boring calendar and lately the unspeakable bobble head dolls (Sam Carter carries a strong resemblence with Bette Middler, and, with all due respect, the cross-eyed versions of Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson look like they smoked something stronger than tobacco). From a fans point of view, this situation is highly unsatisfying. But as MGM doesn't seem to want our money - is it a surprise other people try to get it? We had a look around Ebay, the place where you can buy and sell almost everything, and here we would like to give you some legal information as well as some hints regarding the "ethical" value, which can't be measured in bucks and dimes, and when it comes to ethics, we all have different morals and standards - the ones voiced in this article are ours. You don't have to agree - but maybe give it a thought, anyway. |
 |
 |
 |
| Would you steal Michael Shanks' wallet? Or nick from Richard Dean Anderson's pocket? |
| Pictures |
 |
 |
| If you took pictures of Michael Shanks at a convention and now want to sell them, that's perfectly ok. You are the owner, after all. Scanning pictures from magazines and printing them on photo paper to sell them, on the other hand, is a no-no. The copyright for these pictures is with the photographer and/or the magazine. Same goes for anything involving pictures of the Stargate characters. Daniel Jackson, Jack O'Neill, Sam Carter, Teal'c, Jonas Quinn, General Hammond et al are protected characters, you are not allowed to sell a "Jack O'Neill" calendar, for example. Though, looking at the official calendar, I have all sympathy for folks who prefer to buy a fan-made one... Personally, I make a big difference between fans who create merchandise for fellow fans and people who are clearly dealers with no connection with fandom beside their greed. Which leads us down to the netherings of "celebrity photographers": One of my pet peeves are the so-called "candid" shots. While I don't see much harm in buying pictures of a celebrity taken at an official do, I deeply resent the paparazzi-kind of pictures where it's absolutely clear the person on the photograph didn't know somebody was taking pictures of her/him. Crawling on the bottom of the gutter are paparazzi who sell "candid" pictures of celebrity's children. Think twice before you buy such stuff - do you really want to give your money to a rat with a camera who has no scruples to lurk in a bush to take pictures of a little girl to make money with it ...? |
 |
 |
| picture: Jane |
| picture: Ruthie |
| Of course you wouldn't. First: stealing is out of question. Second: you like these people. But are you aware that with every "Daniel Jackson CD clock" or "Romantic Richard Dean Anderson Pillow Case", "Daniel Jackson check-book cover" or "Michael Shanks Fridge Magnet" you buy you might support dealers who do not pay the actors or the copyright owning companies the royalties they are entitled to? Check this first with the seller. Don't help dealers to betray people you claim to admire and like. |
| Sure - you can say they all have already more money than they could ever spend. But theft is theft. It's up to you to decide if you feel comfortable being part of such a deal. |
| Videos and DVD's |
| If you're in Europe, you're on the bottom of the food chain when it comes to TV interviews or shows of your favourite actors or actresses. So it's understandable you'd be tempted to buy the "collected interviews" of Richard Dean Anderson or "Behind the Scene" features of Michael Shanks on video. It's illegal, folks - and considering that those folks most probably got the material from a kind fan who took a copy for them charging nothing but the tape and the postage (a friendship's service among fans which can't be valued high enough) this way of making money stinks even more. Recently even DVD's have turned up with the "extras" copied off the original DVD's, for example the video diaries of Amanda Tapping and Michael Shanks. This is by far not "fan making a copy for a fan" anymore. It's criminal, and can get the dealer (and the buyer!) in serious conflict with the authorities. |
| Artwork |
| You drew it - you own it. Simple as that. If you draw a picture of your favourite TV character and sell it on Ebay, nobody can sue you. If you're blessed with talent, like some of the cartoonists out there, you are of course entitled to sell your work. M�kka's or Leah's cartoons are parodies, and as such protected by law. We checked this point with one lawyer who's working in the USA and one specialized in European copyright- and patent law. |
| cartoon by M�kka |
| cartoon by Leah Rosental |