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bootleg action figures |
Etrigan
Arkham Inmate
Posts: 95
Location: UK
Joined: 23.06.06
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| Posted on 23-09-2006 06:33 |
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ever think about adding a bootleg action figures section to your site? I find bootleg figures fascinating, and like official figures, there are probably more batman bootlegs out there than anyone else. If you decide to make such a section, I have a few I could help you with.
Newest Figure: Batman TAS: Combat Belt Batman - Kenner
Newest Comic Book: Supreme Power 3 (vol 13-18) |
 
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RE: bootleg action figures |
FlaBat
Dark Knight
Posts: 1526
Location: Miami
Joined: 24.06.05
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| Posted on 23-09-2006 09:32 |
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There used to be a site dedicated to bootlegs, bootlegactionfigures.com but when I clicked the link this morning it said I could not find it.
Here are a few of my Bootleg figures. Most of these are based on Total Justice/JLA figures, but some are BTAS/TNBA and a couple Legends figures. Some are completely different and I?m not sure where they came from.
I have more including some double sized Legends figures that are nice. I don't think we've had a Bootleg section before, but this Thread is a nice start.
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RE: bootleg action figures |
craigomoteo
Arkham Inmate
Posts: 74
Location: Troy, OH
Joined: 13.08.06
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| Posted on 23-09-2006 10:17 |
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I have a question. What constitutes a bootleg? Are the action figures you displayed produced without authorization from DC/WB? Do such trademark violations really occur that often in action figures? I can see someone sneaking into a concert and making a bootleg recording. But how do you mass produce trademarked characters in toys without repercussions? Somebody school me in bootleg action figures.
Edited by craigomoteo on 23-09-2006 10:28 |
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RE: bootleg action figures |
batboy99
W. Tech. Manager
Posts: 1550
Location: Toronto,Ontario Canada
Joined: 20.10.05
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| Posted on 23-09-2006 10:48 |
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yah i used to go to that site,it was in my bookmarks lol i really like that catwoman,some bootlegs are really good
Batman YTB is the best site on the net!
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| Author |
RE: bootleg action figures |
Etrigan
Arkham Inmate
Posts: 95
Location: UK
Joined: 23.06.06
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| Posted on 23-09-2006 11:19 |
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craigomoteo wrote:
I have a question. What constitutes a bootleg? Are the action figures you displayed produced without authorization from DC/WB? Do such trademark violations really occur that often in action figures? I can see someone sneaking into a concert and making a bootleg recording. But how do you mass produce trademarked characters in toys without repercussions? Somebody school me in bootleg action figures.
Like you said, bootleg action figures are unauthorized likenesses of action figures, usually sold in dollar/pound stores or other cheap outlets. The site that FlaBat mentioned was very good, but like he said, it has been down for some time.
As far as I know, making and selling bootlegs isn't illegal, as long as you don't reproduce the source material exactly. For example, I bought a set of four from ebay under the name of 'Batman Begins', but the figures were Batman Forever sculpts with subtle differences in paint colours. I love them, and add them to my collection whenever I see them. They are, after all, just other peoples' customs
Newest Figure: Batman TAS: Combat Belt Batman - Kenner
Newest Comic Book: Supreme Power 3 (vol 13-18) |
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RE: bootleg action figures |
craigomoteo
Arkham Inmate
Posts: 74
Location: Troy, OH
Joined: 13.08.06
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| Posted on 23-09-2006 11:51 |
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WOW! Thanks for the response. I thought that was the whole purpose of having copyrights/trademarks. I can't believe that companies can use the Batman logo and likeness without permission from DC/WB and make a profit at their expense. The ones FlaBat posted looked pretty cool, although the top one did look a little more cheesy and generic. Especially the packaging. Hard to believe these are "rip-off's". |
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RE: bootleg action figures |
Chris
Dark Knight
Posts: 2999
Location: Richmond, Indiana
Joined: 22.06.05
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| Posted on 23-09-2006 11:52 |
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I thought we had one..
When I redid the menu, I guess I forgot to add it..  I'll take care of that!
Edit: It ain't finished, Boss. Remember? (deletes link)
Edited by Caleson on 24-09-2006 02:13 |
  
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RE: bootleg action figures |
craigomoteo
Arkham Inmate
Posts: 74
Location: Troy, OH
Joined: 13.08.06
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| Posted on 23-09-2006 15:08 |
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Thanks for answering my original question with your link. Now that's bootleg!!! |
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RE: bootleg action figures |
FlaBat
Dark Knight
Posts: 1526
Location: Miami
Joined: 24.06.05
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| Posted on 23-09-2006 19:56 |
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Etrigan wrote:
craigomoteo wrote:
I have a question. What constitutes a bootleg? Are the action figures you displayed produced without authorization from DC/WB? Do such trademark violations really occur that often in action figures? I can see someone sneaking into a concert and making a bootleg recording. But how do you mass produce trademarked characters in toys without repercussions? Somebody school me in bootleg action figures.
Like you said, bootleg action figures are unauthorized likenesses of action figures, usually sold in dollar/pound stores or other cheap outlets. The site that FlaBat mentioned was very good, but like he said, it has been down for some time.
As far as I know, making and selling bootlegs isn't illegal, as long as you don't reproduce the source material exactly. For example, I bought a set of four from ebay under the name of 'Batman Begins', but the figures were Batman Forever sculpts with subtle differences in paint colours. I love them, and add them to my collection whenever I see them. They are, after all, just other peoples' customs
A Bootleg is an unlicensed reproduction of a licensed character. In the U.S. we have Copyright Laws, which forbid reproducing copyrighted material without permission. In other countries there are no such laws, so Bootlegs are created by unknown companies and sold in other countries as well as imported into the U.S. sometimes. You see these things pop up in Dollar Stores and the like all the time. The quality is usually not very good and you?re never quite sure what you are getting. I?m not sure of the legality of making and selling them. The ones I have do not have any kind of manufacturer markings on them making them hard to trace back. The amount of time and effort it would take for the authorities to seize these things is probably more likely why we continue to see them. Afterall the images of Batman on the card art are straight from BTAS source material. The Superman art is from Cyber Link Superman and both Batman and Superman logos look great.
Still Bootlegs can be fun to check out. Take my sets above, they use figures from the Total Justice/JLA and BTAS/TNBA line of figures with a couple Legends figures tossed in as well. All of those series of figure only had 5 points of articulation, but you can see ?knees? molded into some of the Bootleg figures that the originals never had. I also have figure in a box the reads Legends Of The Bark Knight (yes, "Bark" with a double sized Legends Of The Dark Knight Batman: The Dark Knight figure with Batman and Robin logo art as well as a couple double sized Lava Fury Batman figures in different colors.
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RE: bootleg action figures |
craigomoteo
Arkham Inmate
Posts: 74
Location: Troy, OH
Joined: 13.08.06
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| Posted on 23-09-2006 20:07 |
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Thanks, FlaBat! |
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RE: bootleg action figures |
Caleson
Dark Knight
Posts: 1631
Location: Rockville, IA
Joined: 24.06.05
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| Posted on 24-09-2006 02:55 |
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I've been gradually working on a Bootleg & Knock-Off Action Figures section for BYTB since 2004 (Beyond posted the link to it earlier). But it's not quite ready to premiere and I don't want to disappoint people with potentially broken links. I know it's taken a while; I guess I've had a hard time deciding whether to focus my time cataloging real Batman merchandise or fake. 
As a matter of fact, I just bought a $1 knock-off today at a flea market in Wisconsin. It's a large scale Superman called "Super Change" ("Super" being in the Spawn font). The figure itself appears to be a knock-off since he doesn't resemble any genuine mold of Hasbro/Mattel/etc. but the card art features comic style Superman, Batman & Robin Batman, comic Spider-Man, and '89 Batman. He comes with a blaster and disc, neither of which he can hold with his closed fists. I'll post some photos soon.
So far, I've boughten two bootleg figure sets at flea markets (the other shown below - includes more photos), and both times the dealer was Asian and didn't seem to be from around here. I figured, most likely, they imported the figures from the Philippines, as that area is known for producing a lot of bootleg and knock-off action figures, as are Mexico and Argentina.
As FlaBat said, the package almost never includes the manufacturer's name or production year and such knowledge would be practically impossible to research. This more than likely has to do with potential legal problems. And there's so many bootlegs out there that it's difficult for the genuine companies to do much about the ordeal. It's also worth noting that it's practically impossible to catalog every bootleg/knock-off figure with their low key status and wide distribution across the globe. I've never seen either of FlaBat's sets before, but they're pretty cool.
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| Author |
RE: bootleg action figures |
Etrigan
Arkham Inmate
Posts: 95
Location: UK
Joined: 23.06.06
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| Posted on 24-09-2006 08:38 |
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hero household - classic!
Newest Figure: Batman TAS: Combat Belt Batman - Kenner
Newest Comic Book: Supreme Power 3 (vol 13-18) |
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