Big Bad Workshop General

I don't know if they got any kind of cease and desist, but I definitely got the vibe they were being more cautious with the move to Big Bad Workshop.

Fresh Monkey's Wave 1 Sleepwalkers just straight up have Red Shadow logo on their collars and helmets. But then Crimson Moon comes out and they're wolf skull logos. Now I can't even swear they're continuing Crimson Moon at all.

My feeling is that when you're a little indie toy company making 4" figures, you can slip in a John Wick or Axel Foley homage figure and fly under all the radars. But when you're one of the biggest online toy sellers in America, you draw more attention.
 
PantherCult said:
Without the trademark black eye patches I don't think it crosses the line. Its just a red tactical costume with some web gear. If they put black paint around the eyes, then I think they are in trouble.
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C&Ds don't have to be enforceable. It can just be a bullying tactic you throw at someone that you know doesn't have the money to fight you and will just do what you say. So, -should- Hasbro or Marvel/Disney feel like this is just a little too close, they'll C&D it. Not because they think they'll win in court, but because they know they won't have to.

I would say it's a bold decision to do the Deadpool-like figure given all the potential side-eye they were already getting from Hasbro over Hasbro's IP stuff. So their next step is to do something the brushes up against an IP held by one of the biggest corporations on earth that Hasbro has an ongoing relationship with. They know they're being watched and this seems like poking the bear in a way that it wouldn't be if they'd held off on this for another year of flying -under- the radar.

But what do I know. I don't run a successful toy company. I DOUBT Hasbro or Disney is going to care. But if they decide they do.....
 
Yeah, C&Ds are rarely about "enforceable" and more about who has more money for lawyers. There's also that weird thing that if you don't do the C&D thing eventually you're considered abdicating your right to protect your IP which is partly why they're such bullies. Our system is borked.

(Logically that's just Beach-Eyes in a red suit and shouldn't be a problem, but... broken system.)
 
docsilence said:
Our system is borked.
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That's for sure.


docsilence said:
(Logically that's just Beach-Eyes in a red suit and shouldn't be a problem, but... broken system.)
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....I dunno. I think they knew what they were doing. The black patches on the upper arms, upper legs, upper torso (as well as black boots, black webgear, and black gloves) feel very intentional. They could have gone with red body and blue parts/accents, for a -color- homage to the original Alley Viper without being close to the actual original figure or Classified figure. They could have gone with grey or brown accents and parts for this to be just a red suited dude. They're intentionally straying close to something we'll recognize and, in my personal opinion, that may not have been a great idea even if nothing really comes of it yet.
 
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Damien said:
That's for sure.



....I dunno. I think they knew what they were doing. The black patches on the upper arms, upper legs, upper torso (as well as black boots, black webgear, and black gloves) feel very intentional. They could have gone with red body and blue parts/accents, for a -color- homage to the original Alley Viper without being close to the actual original figure or Classified figure. They could have gone with grey or brown accents and parts for this to be just a red suited dude. They're intentionally straying close to something we'll recognize and, in my personal opinion, that may not have been a great idea even if nothing really comes of it yet.
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Oh, they totally knew what they were doing. But so did Rob Liefeld with every single member of Youngblood (etc etc etc). IP infractions are not distributed evenly.

Honestly, if you're smart you actively cover your own ass and don't take the risk, but as we've talked about in like, EVERY third party thread, homages make money so you just stick your dick out and hope Hasbro/Disney/Paramount/Warner Brothers/Mattel/whoever doesn't cut it off.
 
docsilence said:
Honestly, if you're smart you actively cover your own ass and don't take the risk, but as we've talked about in like, EVERY third party thread, homages make money so you just stick your dick out and hope Hasbro/Disney/Paramount/Warner Brothers/Mattel/whoever doesn't cut it off.
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Oh yeah, that is definitely the truth of it. If they could figure out how to do a close-enough Wolverine, we'd have three-clawed "vampire soldiers" or whatever, in a second.
 
I honestly never would have thought about that red soldier as close to Deadpool if it hadn't been pointed out. Maybe I'm just used to seeing it in so many other colors that my brain just sees it as the red version of that body.

Now if they included like katanas or a burned up face? Sure.
 
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Boy Wonder thinks Deadpool is lame and has a pedestrian color scheme that isn't recognizable, confirmed. Taking this to the Marvel thread right away.
 
docsilence said:
I mean in all seriousness, "guy in black and red suit with guns" is easier to fudge for an homage. "Short stack in yellow with claws but named Woodchuck" would ring louder alarm bells.
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Leave Woodchuck alone!
They did do this body in yellow too, didn't they?
 
See, I thought we were worried about Red Shadow C&D. I didn't even imagine anyone would see this as more than a nod to Deadpool, and that's only because it was announced with a matching yellow version right around the time of the DP&W movie.

This is as much a rip-off of Deadpool as it is of the Flash.
 
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