fenrir72 wrote:Because of this, I'm even more concerned with a future MP Rieje/Mirage and Jazz/Meister. Rieje sports a bastardized Gitanes from Citanes (a tobacco product) and Jazz (Martinii Racing) from an alchoholic beverage Martini. So are these legal issues going to plague American collectors?
This isn't much of an issue in SEA but for North America, it kind of ridiculous!
Well, Gitanes is a foreign tobacco brand that I am pretty sure (although I am no expert) doesn't have a presence in the U.S., so there wouldn't be a domestic company to worry, "Oh, crap, if importers sell this toy, we might get sued!" It
might still be an issue if there is a domestic release of a hypothetical Masterpiece Mirage, but I imagine someone might be along with stickers to fix it eventually. (I know Reprolabels doesn't wish to do Marlboro stickers, but they had no problem slapping the bastardized "Citanes" onto Classics Mirage. Perhaps because Gitanes isn't as well known a brand here, so the association isn't as strong. Heck, I didn't know that was what "Citanes" was until just now!)
And as for Jazz and his Martini branding, well, as far as imports go, are there similar laws forbidding alcohol branding on toys? Or is that just a problem for tobacco? If alcohol isn't covered, importers may be fine.
And for a domestic version, the Martini branding is very easy to remove and still have it look like Jazz. It isn't as integral to the character as it is for Exhaust. They'll just sell him as Cookie Crisp Jazz, Reprolabels will make some Martini stickers, and everyone will be happy.