JULIE NEWMAR and OTHER STARS PROTECTED BY EBAY'S VeRo PROGRAM
This is a
This is a
F.A.Q. page regarding eBay that may help in resolving questions about certain types of auction stoppages
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F.A.Q. page regarding eBay that may help in resolving questions about certain types of auction stoppages
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You'll find answers to this on
the Disney VeRO page regarding copyright and property rights.
Many celebrities have VeRO reps, in addition to having their interests protected by the RIAA, MPAA, and individual film studios or agencies
We picked the Disney page to show you, because it's very thorough. There are similar pages for Warner Bros, DC Comics, Marvel etc.
Ebay has many pages on seller rules
Typcal is the "faces names" page:
Which you can read by CLICKING HERE
Various eBay pages state that you can't make product from a celebrity's name or fame without their permission. You also can't simply take a photo off a website and duplicate it as "public domain."
A good rule regarding duplicating photos: if you didn't take the picture, and aren't IN the picture, then stay out of the picture.
I BOUGHT MY ITEM FROM A CATALOG....MEMORABILIA STORE...COMIC BOOK CONVENTION, etc. HOW CAN MY AUCTION BE ILLEGAL IF I COULD BUY IT FROM SOMEONE ELSE?
1) What a seller can get away with in one city or country, he can't in another. eBay in some ways is more restrictive. For example, you can buy the new issue of PLAYBOY in most stores around the nation, and it's right next to Time and Newsweek. At eBay, it can't be sold except in the "adults only" section.
Ebay in a lot of ways is more restricted because it is so visible. Somebody in a small town bootlegging a DVD is being "discreet." At least compared to the one doing it on eBay.
2) Often a wholesaler takes the copyright off a photo then duplicates it, steals an image from a magazine and duplicates it, or decides a publicity still is "public domain" when it really isn't.
Often a wholesaler just throws out whatever he can, and then waits to see who sends the cease & desist letter over his "Star Trek" material, or Three Stooges images, etc.
WHY WAS MY AUCTION STOPPED WHEN OTHERS ARE SELLING THE SAME THING??
In many cases, they ARE stopped. It depends on the VeRo member. Some stop everything and check eBay every day. Others, like cops rousting hookers, bust the first few they see, and go on to more pressing matters, figuring to get the rest eventually.
Another factor is that some dealers may be authorized to sell these items, having made arrangements to pay a licensing fee.
WHY ISN'T THERE A LIST OF WHICH STARS AND ITEMS ARE REPRESENTED BY A VERO MEMBER?
Many reasons. For one, it's like asking the policeman, "Please tell me the route you use each day." Why? So that some unprotected person can get hit?
On eBay's pages almost no indivdidual star is listed as being VeRo repped. It makes it easier to catch repeat offenders
WHY COME AFTER ME WHEN THE STAR, STUDIO OR PHOTOGRAPHER IS MAKING A FORTUNE? I'M A SMALL DEALER...WHY ARE THESE BIGSHOTS SO GREEDY?
STAR #1: "I worked very hard to get where I am. When did I make YOU a partner? When you decide my face belongs on your home-made light switch or mousepad, you ruin my own marketing of items like this. Distributors see that it's "already being sold at eBay" and instantly turn it down."
STAR #2: "I want my fans to have the stuff they need...but I want to control the quality. I'd like to choose which images of me are made into posters. I'd like to decide if I want my face on a clock, t-shirt or magnet. And when I do autograph signings, I'd like to sign a photo that I find flattering, not necessarily one that somebody stole and made dupes of."
STAR #3: "I sell photos through my fan club, and through memorabilia shows. If fans have already bought these photos, that reduces my profit. I have big operating expenses with paying secretaries, postage, office supplies and the rest of it. This is business."
THE FILM STUDIO: "This is our property. Period. What part of YOU DON'T OWN THIS don't you understand?"
THE PHOTOGRAPHER: "If my photo is distributed all over the place, and everyone's seen it, and everyone's copied it, I can no longer sell it. That's unfair. The magazine and book editors, poster people and agencies say, "Oh, we've seen that picture a dozen times. We want something fresh." Thanks alot for taking my art and my profits.
IF I MAKE A PAINTING OR TAKE A PHOTO OF JULIE WHY CAN'T I TURN AROUND AND SELL IT?
The legal term is "intellectual property rights." It means celebrities control their images. In the "Tiger Woods Decision" a man making oil paintings of Woods was stopped in a California court. Why? Because if that man merely made an oil painting of an anonymous golfer, nobody would buy it. Making it Tiger Woods gave him big profits and put him in the "Tiger Woods Business." Which requires consent and licensing.
The fact that unlike many stars, Julie doesn't "charge extra" for taking the time to pose, makes this behavior even more crass. Take a photo for your own use. Take a photo and sell it to a magazine if they are running a piece on memorablia shows. But it can't be turned into "product."
Thanks for your understanding
WHY BEGRUDGE A FAN MAKING SOME MONEY OFF A STAR?
Why begrudge somebody taking a chair on his way out of the doctor's office? He's rich, he can buy another one.
Aside from the money, it's the respect. If you don't like the price a celebrity charges for a photo, don't buy it. If you resent taking a car to a convention, take a bus.
It's hardly a sign of respect when a fan gives a celebrity a gift...then snaps a photo and pretends it's an endorsement for sales of copies of that same item on eBay.
Taking advantage of a celebrity this way is often not only nasty...but illegal. You need written consent and a contract if you use a celebrity's image in an ad and imply endorsement.
Celebrities are often by nature very accomodating. Which is why they often have a "bad guy" watching over them. Or, after the fact, a team of lawyers.
Taking advantage of a star...
...works against the REAL fans...the ones who don't demand a photo op, who don't haggle about price or inscription, and who understand that other fans may be waiting.
...it works against the STARS...who might stop making "exceptions" and keep their heads down while signing. No more pausing while the fan comes around the table to get a photo or make the star hold up a product or act like she and the fan are friends and business partners
WHAT ABOUT SELLING A JULIE NEWMAR CATWOMAN OUTFIT, NECKLACE, GLOVES OR DOLL?
The Warners/DC Comics VeRO rep often stops these because of trademark. The Catwoman name and costume are not public domain. Mentioning Julie may be flattering and the intent might be pure, but exceptions can't be made...it encourages too much abuse. Read the DISNEY VERO view (link is toward the top of this page) and see that even cuddly Mickey Mouse agrees with this.
Please use some common sense. You wouldn't want somebody rummaging in your closets and taking things because "you're not using it" or "you won't miss it" or "you can afford to give it away." Please think twice about abusing or taking advantage of a performer in the guise of being "a fan."
SOME CELEBRITIES LOVE THEIR FANS AND...
All celebs do. They should't be taken advantage of, that's all. If they "seem" to be happy to oblige, maybe it's because they're just good actors. Or they think the favor they do is going to be appreciated and won't be turned into product or a fake-endorsement implying a relationship.
AREN'T VERO MEMBERS ON SOME KIND OF POWER TRIP, AND ISN'T STOPPING AUCTIONS JUST A BAD PRACTICAL JOKE? Vero members do YOU lots of good. They stop auctions of shoddy merchandise. You won't have to post a "negative" at eBay if a Vero member has already shot down the person selling bad-quality video dupes and second generation CD-R's and crappy clocks or t-shirts or mousepads with xeroxed pictures on them made of the cheapest material
You won't find your movie star photo fading away or turning yellow because the bootlegger didn't use good quality paper or chemicals.
A Vero member who knows a fake signature from the real thing might have saved you hundreds of dollars shutting down dealers who forge autographs.
You can be very thankful when a Vero member stops you from making a worthless investment. VeRO reps, like cops, do a good job and usually all they get for it is a complaint of being a "pig" or a "bully." Sometimes a person also figures a cop or a VeRO rep can simply be insulted and abused because it's part of their job to take the guff. This is how a speeding ticket ends up being 3 days in jail, or how a minor stoppage (with eBay refunding the insertion fee) ends up turning into permanent suspension.
WHAT EXACTLY IS "PROPRIETARY RIGHTS" and "RIGHT OF PUBLICITY?"
Basically, it means stars are entitled to control the fair use of their image and their fame. If you take a photo of a baseball player, you can sell it to a newspaper. That's fair use. But you can't put it on a baseball card and sell it. For that, you need permission and usually must pay a licensing fee.
THE PHOTO I USE HAS NO COPYRIGHT SYMBOL. I'VE EVEN SEEN IT ON WEBSITES, AND ANYTHING ON A WEBSITE IS PUBLIC DOMAIN, RIGHT?
Wrong. Copyright is a complicated issue, but to put it simply, even items without the copyright symbol may indeed be protected by law. Does a copyright symbol flash constantly during a movie? Is it on every page of a novel? No...there's common sense involved. Just as a dozen cars speeding down a highway hardly makes it legal, the fact that somewhere somebody on a website is doing something they shouldn't...should not be taken as legality. While such abuse is routinely stopped in more high profile areas (like eBay...where the insult of asking for money compounds the injury), websites are far from immune when it comes to legal action.
Lastly, weasel words such as "sold collector to collector" or "no copyright implied" etc. are exactly that. Weasel words. Selling cocaine "collector to collector" would hardly prevent the police from stepping in.
I THINK THE WHOLE THING IS JUST PLAIN UNFAIR
Maybe it is. We've all violated the rules from time to time, whether it's buying a bootleg CD, xeroxing a copyrighted magazine article or duplicating a rental video. But the rules ARE the rules.
Finally, if you feel an item was unjustly stopped (after reading both this FAQ and the eBay pages) be polite and specific in contacting eBay or a VeRo member. In most cases they will try to supply more information if they can. But there is a limit to how much time and legal advice they can supply before they move on to the next case.
Almost no VeRo rep is paid "by the pelt," or gets extra money for stopping auctions.
They are also under no obligation to respond at all, as eBay employees are also under no obligation to even send a form letter.
Thank you for reading through all of this. This FAQ is not "legal advice" and there are a lot of gray areas. There are a LOT of rules on eBay seller pages, and of course, thousands of pages in law books with new pages added or revised every day. The best advice is avoid risky business, and that most certainly means self-made products, computer print-outs and bootlegs.