After the cut we've got the full story with replies from FrontWinner:
According to MLParena member SpaceV FrontWinner replied to artists with the following mails:
"Sorry. We are frontwinner.com. We are just one plush factory, just one producer. We accept the custom plush orders from our customers.
Our customers upload the pictures on our website to collect enough vote. Then let us do the producing.
So we don't know where the pictures are from.
Very sorry for the problem. In future we will publish the customers ID and also let you report the pictures. Then we will delete it."
"If any pictures from yours, you can send message to us on our website.The replies from FrontWinner are probably focused on the plushies that members uploaded to the wishlist part of the website that still contained the DeviantArt watermark / copyright. A few hours ago FrontWinner posted the following news update on the front page:
We will delete it.
We are small plush factory. We don't enough power to keep eyes on Internet. That is producing wish list from our customers. They upload the pictures on our website.
If you find any problem items, please send message with the link on our website.
Thank you"
"Please don't upload deviantArt pictures when you submit custom plush. Thank you"Besides the news update it seems that the wishlist page has also been removed from the page, but still exists with the old URL (note that North American IP-address are still blocked).
At the moment it's being heavily discussed whether FrontWinner is actually copying artists or not. It's obvious that most plushies are based on artists' designs, but differences exist between the original plush and FrontWinners variant. Sophillia posted a comparison on a DeviantArt journal entry:
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| The Original Plush (Left) and FrontWinners Variant (Right) |
Posts
I think they should simply make a rule for plush suggestions that the people are only allowed to submit drawn references when doing a request, would be the easiest solution.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it's such a grey area. They are obviously looking at fan plushies as reference-- rather than coming up with their own design. Yet, while many artists (of all kinds) look at other art for inspiration, this company isn't exactly doing it to put their own twist onto things.
ReplyDeleteAnd while the end product probably isn't a exact replica... it's still, just, a blah type of practice.
Even if they ask people not to submit deviantart images, the people who submit images will still more than likely be using someone's fan plush. Ya know?
That's why i hate plushie-maker from dA, everything is about money.
ReplyDeleteOk but heres my thing: How can they be COPYING an artist, IF the artist's plushes are REPLICAS of currently existing Hasbro characters?? Unless they are buying the plush, deconstructing it, and COPYING the artists own PATTERN for making the plush, then I don't see a single legal thing wrong with this, nor do i consider it "copying". As an artist myself, i feel personally people need to calm down because as plush artists, when they choose to recreate a already well known character,. you can't just say "COPYINGGG" because it's not your own character and people can easily research the character and make their own plush version.
ReplyDeleteI think that the biggest issue with these plush makers are they are worried because they have made and continue to rely on most of their services being from plush requests of well known characters where good quality plushes of them are hard to, if not impossible to find, and having a manufacturer now mass producing them, it obviously will affect their market, but that's something any FANART fiber/crafter has to deal with and learn to re brand or market themselves to cope. To get mad at the manufacturer is kinda unfair especially when it again is a WELL KNOWN, non artist original character.
@ SaxyEli : so are right about this!, thats exactly what i was trying to say. but i couldnt find the right words for it.
Deletethanks! i totally agree with you
totally i gree !!
DeleteA year later and nothing's changed. They're still blocking North American IP-addresses and they're producing plushies of OCs, including mine. Their bootleg products are sold on Ebay as well. I know this, because my watchers look out for me and are nice enough to let me know when they run into things like this.
ReplyDeleteWhen comes to canonical characters, it is hard to tell whether or not Frontwinner is stealing from artists on Deviantart - though that they are stealing from Hasbro is obvious, let's not forget that - but in this case it cannot be disputed: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODAwWDYwMA==/z/HAgAAOSwrklVU4GP/$_57.JPG
Honestly, though. Did anyone really think they cared?
Half the people on DA are stealing the basic design from Hasbro ponies when they make their own only plushies, even using the same color scheme and little picture on the butt. How is that any different? ? I find it funny to hear artists on DA whining because their plush design was "stolen and used" by front winner when the artist also stole the design from Hasbro! That does not make you any better than the people front winner. You cannot use a hasbro design to base your own pony off of then get mad because some overseas website uses your design! You are stealing too.
DeleteI agree that a lot of the people complaining are hypocrites. But tell me how I fall under that category. You seem to be accusing me of stealing designs from Hasbro when it is perfectly clear you haven't had a glance at my page or the link I have provided. (Otherwise you would have known I'm a dragon artist)
DeleteThis is the OC in question: http://img10.deviantart.net/e938/i/2014/360/c/a/ask_me_anything_____closed__by_queencold-d8baie8.png
http://orig13.deviantart.net/9913/f/2014/183/c/8/c819dff5462023bd6f696968077ec82e-d7oz1tm.png
I don't see how that puts me in the same position as people who sell plushes of canon characters, recolors or sell traced work. I don't even sell my work because it's fanart, not even my own characters.
Anyway, the situation has been resolved and Frontwinner was very civil with me.
*the links messed with the sentence prior, it seems. I did not put that many spaces.
DeleteI wasn't necessarily referring to you. I mean everyone in general who makes a pony plush design that just happens to look identical to My Little Pony and then gets mad because some overseas seller stole "their idea" and made a plush out of it. I think this whole case about somebody complaining about Front Winner is an unnecessary moot point. They're certainly not the first people to use My Little Pony images online to sell stuff. Anyway your comments were the most recent at the time so I clicked the REPLY button under yours. It didn't mean I was singling you out.
Deletethe plush should in many -.- countrys (to us to australia , in japan is in a claws machines), the patters is to diferent to DA plush makers artist because FW have an plush designer and FW use the same patter for diferets propouses( make a RD o Fire fly pony for example)
ReplyDeleteand pony is not only , can found pokemons funkos and gashapones