Marvel Puts Crowdfunded Unlicensed Iron Man Suit Makers Out Of Business

[Karloff]

Marvel Puts Crowdfunded Unlicensed Iron Man Suit Makers Out Of Business

This Chinese company will have to find another way to increase suit sales.

For a brief moment, this Iron Man moulded plastic suit glimmered in the void like a tiny unlicensed star; then Marvel stepped in, and crushed its crowdfunder. The Iron Man Factory had turned to Kickstarter to fund what would have been a very sweet piece of kit, judging on looks alone, but without permission from the folks in New York - who, let's not forget, are wholly owned by Disney, a company that takes its copyrights seriously - it was never going to happen.

The suit started as a project to build an Iron Man helmet. The engineers, based in Shenzen, China, began making the helmets with 3D printing technology, and decided that the best way to capitalize on their project was to increase volume of sales, thus reducing cost.

That meant more stuff had to be made, and the team was working on a full injection moulded suit ($1,999), the helmet on its own, ($1,800), or the whole thing from head to toe, ($35,000). A space-grade aluminium version of the suit was also in the works.

Now Marvel's stepped in, the suits will be unavailable for sale outside China. If you've been hoarding Bitcoins, now might be the time to use them - or maybe not [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130646-Bitcoin-Loses-Half-its-Value-After-Chinese-Crackdown]; things change so quickly.

Source: Tech Crunch [http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/17/iron-man-suit-pre-orders/]

Note: Tech Crunch is the source of the $35,000 figure, but I can't help thinking that might be out of whack, since that figure is well beyond the stated cost of the suit and helmet combined. I suspect an extra 0 was added, and the true price might have been $3,500. It's all academic now, since it's not for sale.


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[Legion]

While I can understand why they did it, a part of me is always annoyed when companies pull something like this.

If they aren't planning on making such things themselves, and if the people who are make it clear it is not an official product, then it seems a shame that they won't let them do it. So many cool ideas that aren't big enough for the huge companies to think it worth funding, but those with a passion think is, could be made if copyright wasn't taken to such a level.

 

[tdylan]

I agree, but it's kind of a slippery slope. In this case, the big company shutdown the little guy that was infringing upon him. In another instance, without this kind of thing in place, if a "little guy" made something that suddenly gained traction, a big company could say "hey! We noticed this guy in china making this thing that people are loving. Let's use our infinitely greater resources to make it and muscle him out."

It cuts both ways. It's just unfortunate when it's the little guy on the receiving end.

 

[an annoyed writer]

Frankly, I think it would've been smarter for Marvelisney to buy up and take a cut of the profits of the company, and incorporate them into another part of the merchandising arm of their whole Avengers project. They'd be able to sell some kickass suits, make money, and the guys making the damn things would be happy too, since they'd be able to continue making the suits and maybe even get some official help there.

 

[tdylan]

If some dood in an iron man suit goes apeshit its gonna hurt the ip. Remember the Batman shooter? No reason for disney to take that risk.

How do you figure? If someone is driving a replica Ford Mustang that they built in their garage, and uses it to run over their significant other after an argument, is the Ford Mustang brand suddenly in trouble? The Batman shooter did not hurt the TDKR. That was just some crazy guy that chose a showing that he knew would be packed. No one attributed it to having anything to do with the movie.

 

[Trishbot]

Please. That suit is NOT Iron Man.

It's gray.

That makes it War Machine.

 

[Bat Vader]

From the looks of things it looked like they were doing a really good job on the suit. Instead of putting them out of business Marvel/Disney should have hired them to make these Iron Man suits.

 

[blackrave]

Please. That suit is NOT Iron Man.

It's gray.

That makes it War Machine.

And I don't know how anyone can trademark War Machine's suit
It is generic metal grey/titanium black power armor.

P.S. But I don't think it was finished

 

[Guffe]

The problem is they were going to sell it right?

If someone makes an Iron Man suit, let's say someone interested in metal and electrics want to make a cool suit. Makes it look like Iron Mans, maybe change colours a little, but will use it in like cons and Halloween, then it's no trouble, right?

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

From the looks of things it looked like they were doing a really good job on the suit. Instead of putting them out of business Marvel/Disney should have hired them to make these Iron Man suits.

That would have been the smart thing to do.

[

And I don't know how anyone can trademark War Machine's suit
It is generic metal grey/titanium black power armor.

You can trademark general designs and the 'look' of things from being copied outright.

 

[Baresark]

It literally makes no sense at all. Why block the sales of the item, why not try to draft a licensing deal with them. They are making something that literally NO ONE is making. They should have just said they get to 20% (or whatever amount) off the top and they can sell at their leisure. I could see IP protection if they were making crap. But they are actually making a good product that a very niche market would be interested in.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Please. That suit is NOT Iron Man.

It's gray.

That makes it War Machine.

The very first Iron Man suit was gray. Just so you know.

 

[Buizel91]

It wouldn't be hard to simply change the design a little. Obviously make it recognisable, but re-name it and change some things.

Hell there are companies out there that make 3rd party Transformers, Jackets, clothes for many brands. Staying on the 3rd party Transformers, i have NEVER seen Hasbro shut down someone like Fans Project or Mastermind Creations because of their "Not-Menasor" and Not-Predaking"

Spoiler: Hasbro's G1 Predaking

Spoiler: Mastermind Creations Feral Rex (Not-Predaking)

See? Not hard. Now continue it (With some changes). Sheesh!

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I wonder if this will spawn a crackdown on the other copyrighted IP costume makers like the people who make Mandalorian armor or Stormtrooper armor, given we're talking Disney here.
would suck cuz I'm actually saving up to get a Mando suit for cosplay reasons.

 

[Weaver]

Sometimes I'm kind of envious of China's IP "laws" or lack thereof.

 

[DrOswald]

I

I wonder if this will spawn a crackdown on the other copyrighted IP costume makers like the people who make Mandalorian armor or Stormtrooper armor, given we're talking Disney here.
would suck cuz I'm actually saving up to get a Mando suit for cosplay reasons.

It looks to me like Disney's problem wasn't so much with the creation of the armor as the plan to, essentially, mass produce it. An enthusiast building hand crafted suits of armor and selling them to equally enthusiastic people is free marketing. A company mass producing Iron Man replicas is not ok.

So it probably depends on the nature of the organization you are planning to purchase from.

 

[Strazdas]

So apparently not only can we get patents for "Round corners" but also now we can copyright words "iron" and "man".
Sigh, the more you hear about it the more stupid the IP law looks. REad the law, it sounds not very reasonable but livable, and then you see what they do with it and just go no, that has to go if we ever want to achieve anything.