Attention Collectors - Unnoficial copied Models sold officialy as CollectA

also china.. all of the fake kingdom

Some of the chinese factorys have own nice and interesting animal figurines!!!!!!!!  I think it isnt fair to say that only copies come from China:)

Aqua Meridian, Lian Huat and Nayab( i know now they have copys too) have great animals. I think it is also the reason because a lot of brands produce in china.

widukind wrote:

Some of the chinese factorys have own nice and interesting animal figurines!!!!!!!!  I think it isnt fair to say that only copies come from China:)

Aqua Meridian, Lian Huat and Nayab( i know now they have copys too) have great animals. I think it is also the reason because a lot of brands produce in china.

Andreas has a good point, Nayab/Lontic has also made species in sea animals I haven't seen made by any major company.

I thought of this also - In a way it's a good thing that a company copies off another, I think that would mean the main company has good designs.

orcagirl26 wrote:

widukind wrote:

Some of the chinese factorys have own nice and interesting animal figurines!!!!!!!!  I think it isnt fair to say that only copies come from China:)

Aqua Meridian, Lian Huat and Nayab( i know now they have copys too) have great animals. I think it is also the reason because a lot of brands produce in china.

Andreas has a good point, Nayab/Lontic has also made species in sea animals I haven't seen made by any major company.

I thought of this also - In a way it's a good thing that a company copies off another, I think that would mean the main company has good designs.

First, it should be noted that these copies are bootlegs -they are illegal. China does not recognize foreign copyrights or trademarks, so that is why most of the copies come out of China. If you tried to copy these figures in almost any other country, the main company could sue you for copyright infringement and stop you dead in your tracks; You know that little FBI warning that appears on your DVDs? That applies equally to toys. As a matter of fact, if you are caught selling bootlegged products or found to be in possession of bootlegged products, you can be charged with selling and possessing stolen goods.

Second, every bootleg sold is a potential loss of sale for the main company - the company that shelled out all the money to design, mold, and get the figure to market in the first place. There is absolutely nothing good about bootlegs. Ever wanted one of those really hard to find PlayVisions figures? PlayVisions stopped producing their animal figures because they lost so much money to bootlegs. Remember, every penny in a bootlegger's pocket is one stolen from the actual producer of the figure. Too many pennies stolen and the producers stop producing. Nayab has many unique animal figures of their own; they appear to be taking the low road by bootlegging now as well.

If you see a bootlegged figure in a store and know the manager or an employee, you should tell them. Most understand the implications. Those that don't should. And you should never knowingly buy a bootleg. Report them to the main companies when you find them; tell them where you saw them. Let them handle it through legal channels as they feel necessary. Most times, they can have a Cease and Desist issued, at the very least.

I'm not trying to single you out or put you on the spot, orcagirl26, so please don't think that my little rant is in any way directed at you. Bootlegs are an issue that all collectors need to take very seriously. While we, as collectors, can sometimes benefit from copies, we need to keep in mind that the main companies have to make money to keep producing figures. Bootlegs kill profits for the main companies - look no further than CollectA's response to see how seriously they take it. Copying someone else's product and selling it as your own is theft. Purchasing copies is supporting criminal activity, and stealing from the main company.

sphyrna18 wrote:

orcagirl26 wrote:

widukind wrote:

Some of the chinese factorys have own nice and interesting animal figurines!!!!!!!!  I think it isnt fair to say that only copies come from China:)

Aqua Meridian, Lian Huat and Nayab( i know now they have copys too) have great animals. I think it is also the reason because a lot of brands produce in china.

Andreas has a good point, Nayab/Lontic has also made species in sea animals I haven't seen made by any major company.

I thought of this also - In a way it's a good thing that a company copies off another, I think that would mean the main company has good designs.

First, it should be noted that these copies are bootlegs -they are illegal.  China does not recognize foreign copyrights or trademarks, so that is why most of the copies come out of China.  If you tried to copy these figures in almost any other country, the main company could sue you for copyright infringement and stop you dead in your tracks;  You know that little FBI warning that appears on your DVDs?  That applies equally to toys.  As a matter of fact, if you are caught selling bootlegged products or found to be in possession of bootlegged products, you can be charged with selling and possessing stolen goods.  

Second, every bootleg sold is a potential loss of sale for the main company - the company that shelled out all the money to design, mold, and get the figure to market in the first place.  There is absolutely nothing good about bootlegs.  Ever wanted one of those really hard to find PlayVisions figures? PlayVisions stopped producing their animal figures because they lost so much money to bootlegs. Remember, every penny in a bootlegger's pocket is one stolen from the actual producer of the figure.  Too many pennies stolen and the producers stop producing.  Nayab has many unique animal figures of their own; they appear to be taking the low road by bootlegging now as well.

If you see a bootlegged figure in a store and know the manager or an employee, you should tell them.  Most understand the implications.  Those that don't should. And you should never knowingly buy a bootleg.  Report them to the main companies when you find them; tell them where you saw them. Let them handle it through legal channels as they feel necessary.  Most times, they can have a Cease and Desist issued, at the very least.

I'm not trying to single you out or put you on the spot, orcagirl26, so please don't think that my little rant is in any way directed at you. Bootlegs are an issue that all collectors need to take very seriously.  While we, as collectors, can sometimes benefit from copies, we need to keep in mind that the main companies have to make money to keep producing figures. Bootlegs kill profits for the main companies - look no further than CollectA's response to see how seriously they take it.  Copying someone else's product and selling it as your own is theft. Purchasing copies is supporting criminal activity, and stealing from the main company.

I wasn't aware of China's copyright/trademark laws and I also never looked into it. I should have looked into it more or thought about my reply before I posted it. I sincerely apologize

I didn't think of you as trying to single me out or put me on the spot, I don't really think I did much of anything wrong (it's not like I'm an employee for one of the bootleg companies) except not think before I replied.

orcagirl26 wrote:

I wasn't aware of China's copyright/trademark laws and I also never looked into it. I should have looked into it more or thought about my reply before I posted it. I sincerely apologize

I didn't think of you as trying to single me out or put me on the spot, I don't really think I did much of anything wrong (it's not like I'm an employee for one of the bootleg companies) except not think before I replied.

You didn't do anything wrong, and you have no reason to apologize (to me or to the forum). But since I quoted you, I wanted to clarify. Most people are familiar with bootleg music or movies, and they know that they are illegal; few people realize that the same laws apply to toys and models. Some bootlegs are outstanding quality, and some even fill niches that the main companies do not. For instance, Kaiyodo used to produce garage kit models; they were outstanding, but they required building and gluing and painting; bootleggers got the molds and started producing fully built and pre-painted models. The bootlegs cut into Kaiyodo's profits so much that they stopped producing the model kits all together. They simply couldn't compete with the bootleggers, since they had be able to recoup their production costs while the bootleggers did not. The bootleggers were meeting a market demand by providing the prebuilt, prepainted models, but in doing so, drove their source out of the industry. That is just one reason why we need to be very cautious as collectors about purchasing bootlegs. While they are almost always cheaper, and they are sometimes of nearly equal quality to the originals, they can devastate a manufacturer's ability to continue producing new, exciting products.