Many vendors that make Twilight related merchandise as a "hobby" are being forced to shut down or or face Summit Entertainment's scary legal team. I can understand shutting down the large company that is blatantly taking advantage of Summit's intellectual property and making a huge profit. Certainly we don't condone copyright infringement by any means, but is Summit going too far by attacking the little guys?
Many of the small "businesses" (or overzealous hobbyists) that sell Twilight keepsakes are on sites like Etsy.com or Ebay. Some have created their own websites like twilightbedazzled.com and inspiredbytwilight.com. The owners of these small businesses are moms. The work that is done by these vendors are not designed to make a huge profit or pay the mortgage. These vendors are fans! These "works" allow the obsession to continue long after fans have read the series for the first, second, third and even fourth time. In addition, these vendors are providing the huge population of Twilight fans with unique Twilight keepsakes that Summit is not providing.
These unique creations provide FREE public relations to Summit Entertainment. The diehard Twilight fan purchases a unique keepsake (jewelry, purse, scent, tshirt etc.) from these independent vendors that keeps their "Twilight" excitement alive. In my opinion, these small vendors are doing Summit a favor. Doesn't it seem wrong to demand the small vendors to "cease and desist"? Really, none of them are making a living with their Twilight inspired merchandise...
As a footnote, Twilightmoms.com announced today that the Eclipse movie is second on the list of being the most profitable movies in 2010.
And Summit is concerned that selling a Twilight bracelet is going to affect marketshare?
This really saddens me & makes me sick! Summit is biting the hand that feeds it. LITERALLY! Most of the etsy vendors that I know of only use the inspirations of Twilight. How can Summit OWN inspiration? I am very deeply sorry to all the "little" vendors that are being shut down due to this. I have seen their work & admire the talent that is out there.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and feel for you... I wish there was something I could do to help... I wonder if Summit is going to go to Forks and shut down the small shops there too? Ugh I hate all this.. I hope you and others can keep your fan sites and your fan-made Twilight Inspired business... I for one Love them!!!!
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