RIP Hero of Canton Hats

A few people have already heard, but I wanted to make an official statement regarding the situation involving a certain network banning the sales of a certain hat. If you haven't heard, read this (http://io9.com/fox-bans-the-sale-of-unlicensed-jayne-hats-from-firefly-471820413).

Here's what I have to say:
I depend on making these hats to afford to eat. I depend on these hats to keep my business running. No one really buys anything else from my store. Out of the 125 sales on my Etsy shop 76 of those are Jayne hats. That's roughly 61% of my sales.

When fans want to buy a Jayne hat (oops I said it!) they want to buy a handmade one made by a fan for fans. They don't want a machine made hat from a company that hasn't even seen the show or claim to be a fan. ThinkGeek is not at fault here. Too many people were requesting the hat to be sold on there. They were just giving the people what they wanted.

Here's what I don't get. Why didn't they just get a bunch of people who make the hat already with love and passion for the show and pay them? Haven't we taken away enough jobs? There are too many people who make this hat that would love to work for a company like ThinkGeek and provide these hats to true fans of the show, but no we have to manufacture them with a machine. We can't have independent contractors make the hats for a retail website because that's just too complicated.

Here's what I don't get with Fox. Why after ten years do they just now get around to telling people not to sell these hats? Because someone bought the license for it? Because they realize how much money they're losing not having this licensed? To protect the company that bought the license? Because they're tired of hearing people beg them to bring the show back? Because they're Alliance? Whatever their reason, they still have a legal right to protect, but that only goes so far.

"Although characters have an identity, persona, and other expressive elements, clothing, by itself, is considered a useful article, unprotectable under copyright (a principle that's proven a major irritant for clothing designers). In a 1989 case, a court of appeals refused to protect costume designs even though the company had registered its costumes as "soft sculptures" with the Copyright Office. Other decisions reinforced the rule that costumes are not protectable. There may be instances where a movie company that owns a series such as Indiana Jones could complain that your costume sale -- for example, hat, jacket and whip -- could violate trademark laws if you used the name of the character in your advertising... To be safe under trademark principles, avoid any advertising statements that imply endorsement or an official connection with characters or films." - Posted on Whedonesque.

 With this information it seems that I can still sell the hat so long as I use terms that aren't used in the show. But hold on, here's what Fox told Etsy to tell me.

 Etsy received a notice from Kasimira C. Verdi (foxip@fox.com), Director - Intellectual Property for Fox Group Legal. The notice said that Fox is the owner of copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights in and to the television series FIREFLY (the "Series"), which currently airs on the Science Channel. These rights also include characters, images, designs, slogans and/or other distinctive creative elements of the Series, and the exclusive right to license merchandise in connection with the Series. According to the notice, use of various trademarks, characters, images, designs and/or other distinctive creative elements is not authorized. 

The letter stated that these listing(s) incorporate designs, symbols, language, images, or photographs that infringe upon the concerned party's copyright or other intellectual property right.

So who's in the right here? And who do I talk to so that I can find out? Here's part of the FAQ that they included with the cease and desist letter.

------------------------------

-Q- May I change the design or wording of my listing(s) and
reactivate them?

-A- Etsy cannot offer advice on how to change the listing(s).
Please address any questions concerning this matter to the person
who contacted Etsy (see contact information above) or an
attorney. Do not reactivate these item listings or relist these
items until the issue has been resolved.

------------------------------

An attorney. Because people trying to make a living on Etsy have easy access/can afford those. Oh, but I can try to contact Fox about this matter? Fine. They've been so great about settling this in all of those interviews they've been doing - oh wait, they haven't actually responded to anyone about this situation? Huh.

Here's part of the letter that I found downright insulting and pissed me off more than anything else.

This is a confidential matter, and we request that you not discuss this issue in the Etsy Forums or otherwise violate the confidential nature of this email.

They just took away something that I depended on to provide for myself and keep my business afloat and they expect me to keep my mouth shut? Fuck that. To these corporate asshats a $20 hat might not mean much of a loss for the people who made them. Just like how a certain retro-futuristic sci-fi show didn't mean much to them. All they see is the dollar signs and how they can profit. They don't see how this really affects the people who made the hats.

I've been looking for a job for the past two years and you know how many people actually gave me an interview? One. I got the job, but I only get to work EIGHT FUCKING HOURS A WEEK!!!! I also teach a knitting class every Friday, but I only have two students that actually show up every week and then there are weeks that they can't show up. Not a very stable income. What if these students decide that they're done learning or get to a point that they feel it's too complicated and stop coming to classes? I'm screwed. That's what happens. Does Fox care about my situation? No. Does anybody? It certainly feels that way sometimes, but I do know that I have people in my life that actually gives a shit about me.

I've been paying attention to how the fans have been reacting to this situation and it really fills my heart with pride to be a part of a fandom that genuinely cares for not only the show, but the people who also love the show. The overwhelming support of the Browncoats show that we really are unified and I feel like together we can achieve anything. To anyone reading this, Browncoat or no, thank you. This has been a very stressful couple of weeks for me and my mind is spinning trying to find a way to make this work. There's been a lot of screaming and a lot of tears. Now that I've seen how the fans have been reacting to this I feel like I'm not alone and I might actually be able to find a way to continue making a living.