Why would the copyright holder of a product object to bootleggers making bank, without paying for the license to produce a figure that the copyright holder has invested considerable money and time, in developing?
I mean come on, artists, musicians, authors, etc would just be paying their bills with that money.. the wrong 'uns!.. Everyone knows the Interwebz means everything should be copyright free.. or at worst, paid for by the Bank of Mom and Pop (ie. interest free with a 'probable no repayments' clause).. I didn't get where I am today by respecting intellectual property!
Thats the problem with these creative types, they are obsessed with money.. whatever happened to artists starving in rat infested tenements?.. look at Van Gogh, topped himself without making any money to speak of.. now that was an artist who appreciated the importance of cheap prints for art fans!
If 2000AD haven't produced a product, it will generally mean one of three things -
*1. There are copyright issues with the original author/artist or previous publisher.. since 2000AD has had a number of different owners -
"..first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold to Robert Maxwell in 1987 then Egmont UK in 1991. Fleetway continued to produce the title until 2000, when it was bought by Rebellion Developments." - Wikipedia
*2. No-one has offered them an attractive license fee for producing the product
*3. A film company own the licensing rights to a product from its film, rather than 2000AD.. and this would appear to be the most likely issue, regarding a 1/6 figure bootleg of Urban's Dredd.
Remember the latest Dredd film did not make a spectacular impact at the box office.. "$45m production budget.. Box Office of $41m global (
$13.4 million from North America.).. Alex Garland said that a
North American gross of over $50 million for Dredd would make sequels possible" (London Film and Comic Con in July 2012).. so the film seriously underperformed from a purely financial aspect.. even after adding in "..approx. $10 million in home media sales in North America". - Wikipedia
I loved the new film and would welcome more merchandise.. and the original Fiberglass 1:1 Dredd Helmets licensed by 2000AD is on my grail list.. but I am being pragmatic, there does not appear to be a high expectation of profit, from producing licensed merchandise at this point.. the fact most 2000AD licensed character merchandise ( with the possible exception of T-Shirts) has been fairly thin on the ground for decades, indicates a fairly cult license.
