Hasbro and Shapeways To Allow Fanmade Licensed Item Printing
Tuesday, August 26th, 2014 1:01pm CDT
Categories: Toy News, Company NewsPosted by: Va'al Views: 33,945
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Hasbro and Shapeways want you to profit from your fan-made artwork based on Hasbro toys.
The announcement is an expansion of the two companies’ new partnership; last month they launched a joint venture to allow select independent artists to post and sell their My Little Pony creations on their new collaboration site superfanart.com. The companies would split the revenue from art sales based on the kitschy, popular colorful horses.
[...]
"It was clear to me when we were only doing original work that the next big step is derivative work,” says Shapeways’ cofounder and CEO Peter Weijmarshausen, explaining the movement into a new area for the company. He also explains that the project came together relatively quickly, moving forward in just the last few months after some initial discussions with Hasbro at Maker Faire earlier this year. “Hasbro has the attitude to enable rather than disable,” he says.
Credit(s): Makezine
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Posted by Flashwave on August 26th, 2014 @ 1:05pm CDT
Posted by Convoy on August 26th, 2014 @ 1:15pm CDT

Posted by Gallifreyan Autobot on August 26th, 2014 @ 1:29pm CDT



Posted by Rated X on August 26th, 2014 @ 2:15pm CDT
Posted by Va'al on August 26th, 2014 @ 2:55pm CDT
Autobot tap out wrote:i know this might be a stupid question but would this go for pretty much everything on Creative round up and all of them fanfics?![]()
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Nah, just on designs printed and purchased/sold via Shapeways. So figures, not visual art, fiction or the such.

Posted by MCutter on August 26th, 2014 @ 3:17pm CDT
Convoy wrote:I misread that first line as, 'Hasbro and Shapeways want to profit from your fan-made artwork based on Hasbro toys.' twice!
I'm pretty sure that's how you should read it.
Once Hasbro has a foot in the door of the third party market it'll give them grounds to try and take control of those products and profits. Designers should probably expect an increase in cease and desist notices on products that "threaten Hasbro's market", unless one agrees to license their work out to Hasbro.
Posted by Bumblevivisector on August 26th, 2014 @ 5:52pm CDT
Maybe, but I think it'll still be a while before Hasbro can tell just how far its foot can get into the 3D printable market. There be much blurriness between distinct likenesses and same-general-ideas here.MCutter wrote:Convoy wrote:I misread that first line as, 'Hasbro and Shapeways want to profit from your fan-made artwork based on Hasbro toys.' twice!
I'm pretty sure that's how you should read it.
Once Hasbro has a foot in the door of the third party market it'll give them grounds to try and take control of those products and profits. Designers should probably expect an increase in cease and desist notices on products that "threaten Hasbro's market", unless one agrees to license their work out to Hasbro.
I haven't bought anything from Shapeways or Renderform yet, and honestly haven't been following it that closely, but the first thing I will buy when I get around to it is that cassette scorpion. Though close kin of the IDW-esque Rewind in the thumbnail, could Hasbro really do anything about that particular item? Stinger only exists in an early draft of the TF:TM script, without so much as concept art for this or any other toy to bear a distinct likeness to. Just a quick description of something that never officially existed.
Expensive gestalt teams are the 3rd party items that get the most attention while Impossible Toys is going out of business, but the stuff they made their mark with might be most relevant here. If it's a design from TF media that Hasbro never has and never will touch in the official toy department (Quints, Prime hand blasters), what exactly could Hasbro do, and would they even bother? Also, if the printed object was something that would never pass U.S. toy safety standards, might Hasbro be so tepid about having their name associated with it in any way that they wouldn't even try to block it?
Factor in the threat of backlash from biting too many of the hands that feed them via sweeping 3rd party crackdown, since anyone who buys 3rd party stuff surely collects plenty of the real deal as well, and Hasbro will surely be tiptoeing cautiously into this printable minefield.
Posted by ausbot on August 26th, 2014 @ 7:24pm CDT
Posted by SKYWARPED_128 on August 26th, 2014 @ 7:34pm CDT
"...The companies would split the revenue...."
So, what's in it for the artist himself? Free advertising for his work?
A more important question: If a designer's work is not accepted by Hasbro, is he still able to sell them at Shapeways? Except for complete transforming figures (and even that is an open-ended question), AFAIK weapons and accessories aren't officially copyrighted. This is especially true for add-on parts and original weapons, where the designs are 100% made by the artist and not copied from onscreen CGI models or concept art.
Posted by OptimalOptimus2 on August 26th, 2014 @ 7:57pm CDT
Posted by Flashwave on August 26th, 2014 @ 9:01pm CDT
Convoy wrote:I misread that first line as, 'Hasbro and Shapeways want to profit from your fan-made artwork based on Hasbro toys.' twice!
Okay, stop. No. This is not artwork. This is product. Artwork is stuff on canvas, or digital prints or one off customs. And even then sketchy (get it?) If art is being sold en masse by amteur artists Because its still Hasbro intellectual property. There is no difference between Shapeways and Fansproject beyond the material used for assembly.
Posted by SKYWARPED_128 on August 26th, 2014 @ 10:21pm CDT
Flashwave wrote:Convoy wrote:I misread that first line as, 'Hasbro and Shapeways want to profit from your fan-made artwork based on Hasbro toys.' twice!
Okay, stop. No. This is not artwork. This is product. Artwork is stuff on canvas, or digital prints or one off customs. And even then sketchy (get it?) If art is being sold en masse by amteur artists Because its still Hasbro intellectual property. There is no difference between Shapeways and Fansproject beyond the material used for assembly.
The question is, what does Hasbro consider as "derivative work"? Does one consider a transforming cassette robot a derivative work of the Transformers brand, even if it bears no aesthetic resemblance to Hasbro's copyrighted material and has an original transformation sequence?
Weapons and accessories are even more of a gray area.
It's all open to interpretation, so it's really a matter of how generous Hasbro feels in letting independent 3d designers do their own thing. Generally-speaking, though, Hasbro has been quite nice to it's collector fanbase, so it's unlikely that they'll pull a Harmony Gold with this.
Posted by f-primus-unicron on August 26th, 2014 @ 10:26pm CDT
it sure sounded awesome when it was first announced but
hasbro will have all the rights of one's work, to modify, distribute, and do whatever they whant with it, only one getting the markup, and the right to say TRANSFORMERS, but even then they will get money the rights and control of almost everything
i know some great, awesome and beyond that designers already agreed and so but maybe im just not ENOUGHT designer to see the gains
Posted by Deadput on August 26th, 2014 @ 10:36pm CDT
Convoy wrote:I misread that first line as, 'Hasbro and Shapeways want to profit from your fan-made artwork based on Hasbro toys.' twice!
*Facepalm*
Of course thats what it means thats what selling any product and making businesses partnerships is about!
It's money people need it so they have to find ways to earn it.
Jesus Christ wtf is happening to the world where all companies is being accused of being greedy and selfish money makers.
Posted by TulioDude on August 26th, 2014 @ 11:33pm CDT
Posted by Va'al on August 27th, 2014 @ 1:26am CDT
mirageandjazz1197 wrote:Jesus Christ wtf is happening to the world where all companies is being accused of being greedy and selfish money makers.Convoy wrote:I misread that first line as, 'Hasbro and Shapeways want to profit from your fan-made artwork based on Hasbro toys.' twice!
Capitalism.
Posted by hinomars19 on August 27th, 2014 @ 3:15am CDT
Va'al wrote:mirageandjazz1197 wrote:Jesus Christ wtf is happening to the world where all companies is being accused of being greedy and selfish money makers.Convoy wrote:I misread that first line as, 'Hasbro and Shapeways want to profit from your fan-made artwork based on Hasbro toys.' twice!
Capitalism.
I think people are just worried that the designers themselves will start missing out. The comment about people needing to earn money is the truest statement of all, and that courtesy needs to be afforded to the artists on shapeways as well. Guys like Renderform need to earn a living too, and these kind of things (heads, accessories) are his way of using his skills to earn said money. Nobody wants to see a huge company like Hasbro, who already have their fare share, take from the little guy. Obviously some of these designs are crossing both a moral and legal line, and it's obvious (and right) that Hasbro get in officially on it, but it needs to be done fairly. Hopefully it will be.
That said, I doubt official Hasbro and Takara designers get much in the way of pay on what is THEIR work, not when you see just how much gets shared out to other people just for the privilege of having a company logo on it. Sadly, that's business.
I still don't see why Hasbro don't scout out the breadth of talent that is out there, both on Shapeways and 3rd party toys. Plenty of fan artists and writers have made the leap to official stuff through Dreamwave and IDW. Why not here? Maybe this Shapeways business is the start of something like that?
Posted by Va'al on August 27th, 2014 @ 3:34am CDT
As you said, venues like deviantArt, Tumblr and the such were great platforms for artists and colourists to make it to professional and freelance position with IDW - this would be a great opportunity to restock the designing team at Hasbro.
Posted by SKYWARPED_128 on August 27th, 2014 @ 3:40am CDT
hinomars19 wrote:Va'al wrote:mirageandjazz1197 wrote:Jesus Christ wtf is happening to the world where all companies is being accused of being greedy and selfish money makers.Convoy wrote:I misread that first line as, 'Hasbro and Shapeways want to profit from your fan-made artwork based on Hasbro toys.' twice!
Capitalism.
I think people are just worried that the designers themselves will start missing out. The comment about people needing to earn money is the truest statement of all, and that courtesy needs to be afforded to the artists on shapeways as well. Guys like Renderform need to earn a living too, and these kind of things (heads, accessories) are his way of using his skills to earn said money. Nobody wants to see a huge company like Hasbro, who already have their fare share, take from the little guy. Obviously some of these designs are crossing both a moral and legal line, and it's obvious (and right) that Hasbro get in officially on it, but it needs to be done fairly. Hopefully it will be.
That said, I doubt official Hasbro and Takara designers get much in the way of pay on what is THEIR work, not when you see just how much gets shared out to other people just for the privilege of having a company logo on it. Sadly, that's business.
I still don't see why Hasbro don't scout out the breadth of talent that is out there, both on Shapeways and 3rd party toys. Plenty of fan artists and writers have made the leap to official stuff through Dreamwave and IDW. Why not here? Maybe this Shapeways business is the start of something like that?
Took the words right out of my mouth.
I just read the article at Makezine, and at 20% royalty from the full retail price of each item sold, it's pretty fair. The only catch is that whether you make the cut to be a seller at Super Fan Art is at Hasbro's discretion instead of being a free market like Shapeways.
Va'al wrote:I do hope that is the case too!
As you said, venues like deviantArt, Tumblr and the such were great platforms for artists and colourists to make it to professional and freelance position with IDW - this would be a great opportunity to restock the designing team at Hasbro.
Yeah, Josh Nizzi is a good example.
Posted by noctorro on August 27th, 2014 @ 4:34am CDT
The 3d printer I have is a little more expensive then an XboxOne. And I skipped the new console this year. 3d printing is so much more fun (when you can 3d model anyway)
It's great stuff, but designing your own transformer is difficult as hell. People tend to look down on Hasbro designers or complain about certain figures. Try and 3d model something that actually transformers. I have the greatest respect for Transformers designers since the day I tried to model one in 3D.
Oh yess:
If there are any 3d modelers on the forum who have a cool transformer 3d model. I can print it for you and send it
