Universal Studios Copyrights, The UMA, And Our Hobby

[Toy Ranch]

You may have noticed that about 3 weeks ago, banners for our group t-shirts were taken off the site.  An attorney claiming to represent Universal (and whom we were able to verify through Universal that he does represent them in copyright matters) contacted us with a Cease and Desist notice, alleging infringement, and making several demands, including a considerable sum for damages.  We immediately took down all promotions for the shirts, and began working with our resources inside and outside the group for assistance with how to deal with this situation.  We became aware that some of our members also received similar notices from the same attorney, which probably came as a result of allegedly infringing items being promoted on our forum.  Last night, a resolution was reached which ended our involvement with this matter.  We are not at liberty to divulge the conditions of the resolution, other than to say the t-shirts are no longer available.

Universal began vigorous enforcement of their copyrights a few months ago, which started in the garage kit hobby and spread outward from that.  The artist-made and fan-made items which haven't been subject to enforcement for many years are now being targeted as infringing.  Obviously this has a stunning effect on our hobby, as hobbyist fans have long made limited numbers of monsters for us to enjoy, which otherwise would not exist.

Going forward, we are not in a position to judge whether an item is properly licensed and unless we receive a takedown notice in accordance with the *DMCA, no new rules exist regarding your posts or items offered for sale, but be aware that your posts are made on a public forum and we take no responsibility for anything you post or any consequences arising for you or others as a result of your posts as is spelled out in the **Terms of Service you agreed to when you registered for this site.  If you have threads which you would like to have edited or removed, please utilize the "Report To Moderator" feature, which will send us a link to the thread or post in question.  Please be sure to explain what you want us to do in the text field.  This feature can be found at the bottom of any post, on the right side.

Furthermore, the good news is that the Universal Monster Army is here to stay.  Also we should mention that Universal Studios legal and licensing departments were assistive to us in resolving this matter, as well as a number of members and non-members, attorneys, and other interested parties who lent us their advice and expertise at no cost, and to whom we are very grateful.


*Digital Millennium Copyright Act PDF File
**Terms of Service

[Toy Ranch]

Sorry, this was not supposed to be a locked topic.  There isn't much more we can say about it, but feel free to discuss it.

[Cinemacabre]

I'll sleep better at night knowing that Universal is protected from scumbags like us, who seek only to destroy their precious movies.

Oh, wait...

[Mcdee]

That's a shame about the T-Shirts, They are very cool. Is there a possibility that Universal would grant Licensing for them? If so how much? In light of the fact that this site and all its' members are Universal Monster supporters and as such, did the good folks at Universal realise that our existance is actually  benificial to them?  The Universal Monster Army is akin to a Fanclub... Man if I had a Fanclub I don't think I'd ask them to stop advertising on my behalf...
Mcdee

[Toy Ranch]

That's a shame about the T-Shirts, They are very cool. Is there a possibility that Universal would grant Licensing for them? If so how much? In light of the fact that this site and all its' members are Universal Monster supporters and as such, did the good folks at Universal realise that our existance is actually  benificial to them?  The Universal Monster Army is akin to a Fanclub... Man if I had a Fanclub I don't think I'd ask them to stop advertising on my behalf...
Mcdee

As I understand it...  If Universal were a small company or an individual, limited licensing might be possible.  They're not.  Any licensing agreement has to go through legal, they have product testing to address liability they might have in the event of a lawsuit (someone wearing our shirt catches on fire and knows we don't have money so they sue Universal who licensed it), etc.  Giving us a limited license would also fly in the face of their licensed t-shirt producers.  And then there's the cost.  We sold a handful of them for $15 each shipped.   A big t-shirt company might have them made up for $2 or $3 each, but our cost for such a short run of them is much higher.  Even if we'd sold them all, we wouldn't have made much, they were mostly just being made and sold for members to enjoy, and the few dollars left over go to pay for the site.  If we were to get licensing, the shirts would probably cost over $100 each and we still wouldn't make anything  

There will be a new shirt, but it won't infringe on Universal's copyrights.  Honestly, we never even thought about it.  Color us naive.  

[toysoldierman2001]

Well are we still allowed to wear the shirts we paid for out in public???

[Fester]

They let us keep the name?


You'd think they wouldn't mind a little free advertising.

When the banners and all correspondence regarding hats and patches disappeared, I suspected something had gone wrong with copyright.  I understand their POV, but  it is a sad state of affairs when you run the risk of alienating your fans and supporters by stepping in the little guys.

It would not be so bad IF Universal was doing anything with their copyright materials. I'd be happy to buy officially licensed stuff if it was available. 

Now, if The Mouse's attorneys had got on us, we'd probably be extinct.

[Universalrocks]

This is good news indeed.  

[Toy Ranch]

Well are we still allowed to wear the shirts we paid for out in public???

Yes, you just aren't allowed to resell them. 

[monsterphile]

...and who in their right mind would want to get rid of their UMA shirt?

Also, as I understand it, the way the law is written, companies have to protect their copyrights or it legally looks like they are abandoning them.  Something like that.

[Toy Ranch]

They let us keep the name?


You'd think they wouldn't mind a little free advertising.

When the banners and all correspondence regarding hats and patches disappeared, I suspected something had gone wrong with copyright.  I understand their POV, but  it is a sad state of affairs when you run the risk of alienating your fans and supporters by stepping in the little guys.

It would not be so bad IF Universal was doing anything with their copyright materials. I'd be happy to buy officially licensed stuff if it was available. 

Now, if The Mouse's attorneys had got on us, we'd probably be extinct.

Our group was discussed through the legal and licensing departments of Universal, and also this seperate copyright attorney, and nothing was said to us about our group name being a problem. 

I don't know what inspired this crackdown, but from all I've read and heard, trademarks (as opposed to copyrights) can be lost if they are not defended against infringement.  If Universal wants to sell licensing, with the new Wolfman movie coming up, and the market is flooded with unlicensed goods, it's harder to convince someone they should pay for licensing when there's a bunch of unlicensed stuff out there.  Obviously, as fans and enthusiasts, we have a different point of view.  We love the monsters and a lot of the stuff out there right now and for a long time that is licensed is pretty pathetic.  Of course, there are notable exceptions to that as well.  The real problem for us is that there are not enough collectors of Universal Monsters to justify a lot of products these days.  They can dribble a few things out and we buy them, but those of us who do collect it don't have as much or as good quality as we'd like.  The garage kit hobby and fan-made stuff has been going strong for 20 or more years, and has been virtually left alone.  That has all changed now.  There are a lot of opinions about why that is, but despite the catalyst for the crackdown, the hobby level stuff has reached the point that this was going to happen sooner or later, and how we got here is far less important than where we are going.

[Jscareshock]

YEah, i've been doing a lot of research on trademarks and copyrights lately.  A copyright does not have to be renewed.  A trademark does--I think it's every 7 or 14 years.  So something must be coming up for renewal because they must show the court that they are actively promoting their trademark so it doesn't get lost to someone else.

[Dr.Terror]

David Bowie - Underground

[depressedlarrytalbot]

Meh. As Peter MacNicol so eloquently put it in GHOSTBUSTERS II, "The joyfulness is over".
Had previous experience with the MPAA and its members. They leave you embittered and changed even when the outcome is relatively painless.
Sorry to be a wet blanket but I don't have this handle for naught.
Glad the UMA has emerged unscathed though.
Are previously-deleted threads free again?  

[Toy Ranch]

Meh. As Peter MacNicol so eloquently put it in GHOSTBUSTERS II, "The joyfulness is over".
Had previous experience with the MPAA and its members. They leave you embittered and changed even when the outcome is relatively painless.
Sorry to be a wet blanket but I don't have this handle for naught.
Glad the UMA has emerged unscathed though.
Are previously-deleted threads free again? 

There were some threads deleted because members who decided to exit the hobby as it pertains to licensed items requested that they be deleted.  If you (or anyone) want to inquire about any threads in particular, shoot me a PM.