Frax
New member
I wasn't supporting anything, per se. I never asked for the file, asked for it to be released, or bought a set of the artwork that was sold.
The reason I say they're dicks, and that it's not something that should seem like a big deal, is because they DON'T defend their IP nearly well enough. When I was looking into making a mold to vaccu-form some Space Shuttle repro toys, I contacted them. I was told that someone was already going to make it, and that I would not be allowed to sell mine. Meanwhile, at the same time, someone on ebay sold approximately 20-30 shuttle toys produced in the exact same way. I even reported the guy to them, and new auctions still kept going up. I'm sitting around screwed waiting on "someone" to make the thing, no official way to get a legit repro, and some d00d is making hundreds of bucks selling his half-assed repro and they sit there and do nothing. "Get a freakin' clue" on that...I can't figure it out.
Sorry, I don't see Rick or Planetary as a bunch of benevolent royalty that's out to save pinball....they're out to turn a profit, just like anyone else in business. Clearly they pick and choose what is worth their time to defend, and it's only when there's a big enough profit margin. They either don't go after ebay sellers that only have a few sales, or they figured there wasn't enough demand to make it worth their time to protect Pinball Inc's right to make those toys. Hell, for all I know, it may be Pinball Inc's responsibility since they licensed it from Planetary. Either way, that's a good case of it not being covered when it should've been.
You make a good point about the other companies not cooperating too. Wasn't aware of the BSD thing, and that sucks. Every time this thread comes up, seems like there's a bunch of people that want this sideart. I guess it's possible they might be asking an exorbitant fee making it unfeasible, kind of like the TZ Pinball Arcade situation, but hopefully it will get worked out one way or another, because the demand is out there. Would hate to see a thread about this on say...Pinside. Bet the amount of response would be crazy. :|
The reason I say they're dicks, and that it's not something that should seem like a big deal, is because they DON'T defend their IP nearly well enough. When I was looking into making a mold to vaccu-form some Space Shuttle repro toys, I contacted them. I was told that someone was already going to make it, and that I would not be allowed to sell mine. Meanwhile, at the same time, someone on ebay sold approximately 20-30 shuttle toys produced in the exact same way. I even reported the guy to them, and new auctions still kept going up. I'm sitting around screwed waiting on "someone" to make the thing, no official way to get a legit repro, and some d00d is making hundreds of bucks selling his half-assed repro and they sit there and do nothing. "Get a freakin' clue" on that...I can't figure it out.
Sorry, I don't see Rick or Planetary as a bunch of benevolent royalty that's out to save pinball....they're out to turn a profit, just like anyone else in business. Clearly they pick and choose what is worth their time to defend, and it's only when there's a big enough profit margin. They either don't go after ebay sellers that only have a few sales, or they figured there wasn't enough demand to make it worth their time to protect Pinball Inc's right to make those toys. Hell, for all I know, it may be Pinball Inc's responsibility since they licensed it from Planetary. Either way, that's a good case of it not being covered when it should've been.
You make a good point about the other companies not cooperating too. Wasn't aware of the BSD thing, and that sucks. Every time this thread comes up, seems like there's a bunch of people that want this sideart. I guess it's possible they might be asking an exorbitant fee making it unfeasible, kind of like the TZ Pinball Arcade situation, but hopefully it will get worked out one way or another, because the demand is out there. Would hate to see a thread about this on say...Pinside. Bet the amount of response would be crazy. :|
