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Shari Sep 24, 2007

I saw a cute "ragbunny" on eBay in the artist bear section and it was named Mimzy. It doesn't look like the movie Mimzy but it looks like it has a "swirl" on it's chest heart. I have to run and get ready for school.Here's a link,hope it works:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Original-OOak-Mimzy … dZViewItem

matilda Sep 25, 2007

She's very talented. Shame she used the name Mimzy.

RaggyRat Sep 25, 2007

and the logo writing of the name mimzy .... sigh ....
my rat bags have been ripped off and i hate it - a company on mainland europe !

cat xxx

Shari Sep 25, 2007

I was trying to be positive about how cute the bunny is but I thought of Daphne's bunny and that there was a tiny chance the name was a coincidence. When I saw the swirl on the heart I knew it wasn't.   As an artist I don't think I could do that. I've never named my creations after an already well known soft sculpture like Garfield,Winnie the Pooh etc. Are there laws against doing that? I know it doesn't look like Daphne's bunny but I couldn't help feeling uncomfortable    about the ragbunny Mimzy. I felt like I needed to run and tell someone(like Paul Revere) but maybe I overreacted.   I just felt kinda protective towards the original Mimzy since we got to see it come to life and knew how much Daphne put into it :hug:

Daphne Sep 25, 2007

Shari,
You are so sweet.....
I've tried to separate myself from that rabbit the best I can. I didn't come up with the design..... just became a slave to it. But it wasn't my idea.... not even the swirl (mandala) on the belly....

Yes, I worked very hard on that project.... but it's New Line's design.... they are the ones who would have to feel like their work had been stollen.... they'd have to deal with copyright infringement. I don't even have a contact at New Line to report something like this too and to be honest, I doubt they'd find it anything more than a nuissance to address.

The likeness with this bunny is faint.... yes, she's a rabbit, had the same name and swirl but that's it. AND.... no bids! People want the real thing! Shame on her for TRYING to take advantage of a shortage of Mimzies and thinking she can pull the wool over someone's eyes and fetch the hundreds of dollars the real Mimzy is going for!

Gee, I guess I still get my feathers a bit ruffled over things like this but I'm sure more of it goes on than we realize. it's the principal.... like you said.... as an artist I could never do that either! That's where my frustration and disappointment lies.... in people who can't create their own original work, who copy and take advantage of those who are successful.... whether it's a big movie company or a single artist.

Thanks for posting about this Shari.... this artist has done something that she can indeed be sued for.... all artists need to be careful about creating things in 'similar likeness'.... not sure what that terms means as far as just how SIMILAR the thing needs to be.... seems like a pretty gray area.... but something to be careful of nonetheless.

I don't want to turn this into a topic on copyright or a place to bash this artist for doing what she did.

But thanks again for posting about it!!!!!!!!  :hug:

Daphne

Shari Sep 27, 2007

Your welcome Daphne. I do understand about Mimzy's design but in my mind and heart,  you are Mimzy's creator Mimzy. I do agree it's the principal of the whole thing. Thanks for your kind words :hug: 

ivuska.h Sep 27, 2007

I don't think that the lady did anything bad. She only used the name and the swirl which both are "public domain". It would be a "crime" if she used similar design to that movie Mimzy. Anyway, I think that the "first" soft creation with swirls was a bear which I gave to my former boyfriend and thanks to whom I started making bears (but he was not made by me, not even handmade). I enclose some pictures of him 

This is him

Our bear in Seattle

With Jimi Hendrix