they ripped off an ORIGINAL finfolk design // yet more mermaid tail drama
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- Äas pĹidĂĄn 1. 06. 2024
- Comparing the original finfolk LED silicone mermaid tail to the knock-off LED fabric mermaid tail sold by Mermaid Lucia. I can't believe Finfolk was ripped off AGAIN. đ
đ My previous videos talking about this issue:
Copy VS Inspo: ⢠copying VS inspiration...
Why do they keep ripping us off?: ⢠why do they keep rippi...
đChapters:
0:00 AGAIN? REALLY?
1:04 About the Finfolk Tail
2:13 What's the Issue?
4:17 Other LED Mermaid Tails
5:03 MORE EVIDENCE
5:34 The Community's Response
5:57 Courtney Loses It
7:49 It Gets EVEN WORSE...
8:45 A Final Word
10:04 Thank You to the Patreon Pod!
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Leave your thoughts on this situation in the comments respectfully please. â¤ď¸
Been waiting for this video, canât wait to watch. The fact theyâve now registered the tails as intellectual property (at least here in the UK) has me baffled. Like legitimately confused. LED tails are not new, I get that, lots of tail makers have made tails with LEDs. But the fact that I saw that tail and immediately was like oh thats a fabric version of the Finfolk tail tells me that itâs too close for comfort
@@MermaidLolly I would be interested to see their paperwork. Registering things doesnât happen overnight and it costs money and there are requirements that need to be met. I donât actually believe that they are conducting their business in the UK (at least not entirely at any rate).
@@CourtneyMermaid donât think itâs all the paperwork (I donât know how in-depth these things are, I can imagine very in-depth) but itâs on their Instagram. Posted on 20th July, it does say provisional though on the doc. But of course you never really know if that doc is even real, anything can be fabricated on the internet
If you have a tail you don't need or want I will have it
The breaking point for me was the fact that Lucia tried (or successfully) tried to PATENT THE DESIGN SHE STOLE. Guys please, copyright and patenting is such a delicate issue in the creative industry, why do this
It also takes a lot of time, effort, paperwork, and money to patent something. It doesnât happen overnight. Itâs so uncool that they claim that theyâve done it to justify all of this.
Iâm late to the party but if Lucia is going to be pulling this kind of sh*t, she should have her company shut down if it hasnât happened already. Iâm still fairly new to the mermaiding community and if this is happening as often as it is to my understanding, that is just horrifically disrespectful to the original tailmakers.
EDIT: AliExpress has jumped on this as wellâŚđ¤Śââď¸
This is disgusting! "They deserve it". Really? Finfolk made this LED tail for mermaid Sirenity. The fact that someone would justify themselves with this excuse is childish and below the belt.
Itâs brutal. đ
I really can't imagine how Finkfolk and Sirenity must feel with all the care that went into it. It's absolutely awful
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO! I could not believe the amount of people defending this tail âdesignâ. Some people were like âit doesnât look the same at allâ ⌠like Iâm sorry do you have eyes? I genuinely think all the people defending it only did so because they want to buy one of these knock offs and feel justified in doing so. Much disappointment đ¤Śđźââď¸
âDo you have eyes?â OMG LOL RIGHT?! I echo your sentiments in that I believe the people defending it are doing so in order to feel less bad about purchasing it. Thanks for watching fishie!!
Thank you so much for saying something! I said something in one of the mermaid scammer groups and got bullied by people saying that it's not a copy because they were just mimicking the same fish. I guess they've never actually seen an angler because there are many different ways to interpret it without it looking exactly like Finfolk's design. And the fact that they copied their marketing with the lantern was judt the extra cherry on top. Not sure why so many people are defending Lucia
People will defend Mermaid Lucia out of a want to justify their purchase. They donât want to feel bad about it.
@@CourtneyMermaid I suppose that makes sense. Super immoral all the same though, and it won't change the fact that the design is stolen
@@cassie6645 absolutely agree with you.
I agree. Itâs a flimsy excuse on Mermaid Luciaâs part. There is no angler, or any fish for that matter, that has that many bioluminescent tendrils. Itâs a huge energy expense for deep sea taxa. They would have been better to mimic a jellyfish. But thatâs not what happened here. What Mermaid Lucia and company âmimickedâ was a bioluminescent mermaidâŚFinFolkâs bioluminescent mermaidâŚa one of a kind masterpiece. No way to hide that oneâŚ
when I saw Lucia post this tail ... I had to literally screenshot and do a side by side and THEN sent to my my friends who's not in the mermaid community but an artist and I was like "by first glance would you say the fabric is a ripped off copy ?" and she was like yeahhh dude thats messed up ".
Pretty much!
I think now, people just look at a tail and be like oh I want it, I think they forget the tail isn't just a tail, it's art work aswell and as someone who loves swimming in a tail and being a small artist it hurts, also thank you for this video đ
Thatâs the ongoing struggle of the mermaid tail maker right there. For many of us it is an expression of ourselves as art and for others it is a just another product/costume. Thank you so much for watching and commenting your thoughts!
Okay but not only does a tail maker NEVER deserve to have their hard work and love ripped off, but when a tail is commissioned for a person, it is going to be one of a kind- I'm sorry, but I don't see these same fish saying this for custom tails from Mertailor, or Finfun, so why just Finfolk? How toxic of a mindset.
If you can't make an exact copy of the Mona Lisa and get away with it, then why the hell do they think anyone else can do the same thing with other artists?! "That's what they get for only making one" my left side scales đ¤ŹIf those mers got custom one of a kind tails that cost them hundreds to thousands of dollars and had this exact thing happen to them, I bet their tune would change SO FAST đ¤đ¤
Iâm sure it would absolutely change their tune. People donât know how awful this feels until it happens to them. Itâs an awful experience and makes me regret being an artist in any kind of public capacity sometimes. :(
Exactly THIS!
@@CourtneyMermaid I totally get it! I stepped out of the public art scene a bit back to pursue science. But recently, Iâve been hankering to dive back into it and share some of the gorgeous pieces Iâve been working on. Yet, after seeing all of the piracy coming out with digital rip-offs, I might just go back into my closet againâŚ
This is spot on.
I work very closely with the FinFolk team; often helping them make tails and accessories and I see FIRSTHAND the exceptions people make for other tailmakers (specifically Mertailor), but not the twins. It continues to baffle me. There are things he has done that people have turned a blind eye too, but if the twins so much as sew a faulty stitch, mobs come after them with pitchforks and blowtorches.
I watched this tail come to life; I saw it before it was painted, I saw it before it had the lights installed, literally witnessed this tail come alive, and it's been ripped off a few times.
It's really wild how people will justify poor actions just because they want to participate in something
Finfolk, last I heard, is 13 people, only 3-4 of whom make the silicone tails. They only made one tail, because the lights stopped working. That tail was a prototype (an incredible prototype), and they were clear about that.
The audacity to say that Finfolk deserved that ripoff, because we deserve to buy their art, is like painting a copy of Stary Nightmare, and slapping your name over Van Gough and calling it an innovation. Like NO! That is plagiarism.
Selling it on top of that is so ridiculous.
100% agree with you!
This situation is all too familiar to me coming from the furry community. Of course they only made one tail like that, it was a custom tail design, that likely meant a lot to the designer. It would be like if someone ever saw my character, Charlie (the jackalope I have in my profile), and were like "why aren't you letting other people use this character?" and then copied their design and called them their own. This is my ip. I designed them myself, and worked really hard on coming up with the design for them. And the sad fact is, while it hasn't happened to me, (as far as I know), fursona designs and fur suit designs getting stolen is a huge problem, and it sucks that it's just as rampant in this community. I hope people start to learn and understand why stealing art is so harmful, and do better. I'm glad you're speaking out against this. Art theft of any kind is awful and needs to stop.
100% agree with you! What really gets me though is the artists doing the ripping-off actually do have talent and skill (obviously not always the case) and could be creating THEIR OWN magic and bring something NEW to the community you know?
@@CourtneyMermaid Exactly. And while no idea is completely original, it's best to operate under the mantra of inspiration over imitation. I actually learned that from Nick Nocturne when he was doing his series on making a web series, because tons of people in the arg unfiction community like to rip off marble hornets. And of course if you are using someone else's work, credit them.
@@avionpiscean33 I feel like I have a unique perspective to offer on this as well as someone who put all of her techniques up for everyone to use as a series of CZcams videos when I was first getting into hardcore tail making. Iâve seen hundreds of people use my tutorials and most of them took my directions and made something COMPLETELY new! It is definitely possible and I love how you worded it as âinspiration over imitation.â Itâs possible to be inspired by someone and create something new and beautiful out of that inspiration instead of trying to duplicate that artistâs success!
I was actually looking at both artist and this exact tail I'm so glad I saw this before I did any purchasing! I always research all the materials real artist just to make sure! Thank you so much for this I almost made a mistake! I'm only 14 but been a mermaid since I was 8 love watching you!
Iâm glad I could help shed some light on the situation. â¤ď¸
And as a fellow artist I'm making a tail design but most artist I see aren't taking requests and I'm still saving up so I hope I can order from you soon! Your tails are gorgeous! Keep up the amazing work!â¤
Wow, 14 and youâve already got more smarts than most! Excellent that youâve been doing your research. đ Wish you all the best with your tail design!đ§ââď¸ Courtneyâs tails are gorgeous!đ
I stumbled across your video on tiktok about this and followed the trail here.
I'm fairly new to mermaiding, and own several tails from Finfolk, FinFun, and Mertailor. I had no idea this was going on and as a small artist myself am absolutely APALLED to see such behavior.
Copycat designs, character theft, and intellectual property theft are a constant battle within the space of creators, and it's disappointing to see this carries across to tail makers as well.
The uncanniness of the Lucia tail to the Finfolk one is absolutely undeniable. It feels like a poor attempt to recreate something unique and beautiful simply to cash in on a design that became very popular for it's original idea and execution.
Honestly any claim that this isnât a rip off is so laughable that Iâm honestly impressed finfolk isnât going to sue the pants off them.
I don't know that they could given how things like this are treated. I would have to do more research (which I plan to) but it is my understanding that mermaid tails full under "costumes" and the rules around how they can be protected are complicated. I'm more disappointed in the response from some of the community than anything to be honest... :(
@@CourtneyMermaid interestingâŚis that because theyâre considered âwearable artâ or because mermaid tails are functional? Why should it make a difference wether you vs your wall holds the canvas? Genuinely askingâŚ:)
@@cyaneablue9984 I plan to research this further as Iâm not as well versed in all aspects of this as I would like to be to have an appropriate response. A few other people have asked me about this today so it might warrant a video in the future.
@@CourtneyMermaid I would definitely be interested in learning more about this. Several examples come to mind in the debate of what constitutes protected art (jewelry and fashion, to name a few).
I think maybe if thereâs enough awareness around this, itâll hurt the company financially enough.
Their reasoning implies that mermaids aren't allowed to be unique. But that kind of thinking will hinder creative progress. Everyone deserves the opportunity to stand out amongst their peers. If every tail looked exactly the same, everything would be bland. I mean, there's nothing wrong with having matching tails, but not all mermaids were meant to match the rest of their pod, they should have the freedom to swim to the rhythm of their own drum, to have something that is all their own, and flaunt their creativity, without fear of being ripped off...
If mermaids existed in real life it would also be different. Referencing nature is important to the creative process. Like I said in the video, this tail doesnât exist in nature and the argument that other companies should just be allowed to duplicate any design they find on the internet because itâs JUST a mermaid tail is absolutely the ass-end of backwards. You make an excellent point too about some mermaids wishing to stand out and be unique.
Iâm a part of multiple communities that have great artists, and art theft is very apparent, so once I saw that Lucia tail, I was VERY disappointed considering I want the fish fin⌠not going to support art theft with my money
Thank you for watching and for your support!
Wooooooooah "owed" I feel as if I'm gifted art work, even when I pay for an offered design..... to me it's a gift.... we're "owed" NOTHING in this world. The entitlement..... It's weird to me.
Itâs weird to me tooâŚ
Hey Courtney, I myself am actually aspiring, i think thats how its said, to become a tail maker. Once I saw that LED tail by finfun ive been at the drawing board for months trying to figure out how the heck they did that, and trying to incorporate it into my own design. Hearing how their one of a kind art was just slapped onto a fabric tail just for more profit makes me as an artist afraid to even post my accomplishments. But just by watching your video on it kinda helps me get prepared for what is to come. So I thank you for shedding some light on someone like me who wants to share his own art with the world.
Thank you for the supportive comment and I wish you the very best on your tail making adventures!
I noticed the moment i saw lucia's post, been following the company for a while. Couldnt believe my eyes honestly
I was utterly shocked. It was shared with me in the Patreon Pod and I was blown away in disbelief.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this video and talking about art theft. It is such a huge problem in so many creative communities and the amount of support I've seen in favor of art thieves so people can get what they want is just so disturbing. It breaks my heart both for the artists whose soul went into creating it and the person who commissioned the art and saw their beloved idea come to life in the artist's hands.
You were spot on when you said we are not owed the artist's work. The funny thing is, we've driven home this idea of "you deserve x, y, and z" to the point that it is coming back to bite us now. It was on my donut bag, for crying out loud. "You deserve a donut." You deserve the best. You deserve a discount. You deserve whatever it takes to make you happy. So now, people think they deserve to have whatever design they want. Even if it means stealing someone else's vision and hard work. Stealing something that cost thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to create. One of a kind. Small beans in some peoples' minds if that's what it takes to make them happy. Because "they deserve it". It's really so sad.
Anyway, I appreciate you working so hard to bring this subject to light and expose art theft in our community. đ§Ąđ§Ąđ§Ą
Thank you for watching and for your comment. When it comes to artists so many people really take the work we do for granted. It was even hard for me to bring it up in the video. It has been such a frustrating thing to watch unfold within our community. :(
The moment I saw this tail on IG, it made me uncomfortable. No matter what tiny technical changes were made, it is WAY too similar to the FinkFolk tail. Lucia made another LED tail (like pheonix inspired) that is uniquely different, so the only reason to copy this design is greed. This now makes me very wary of them as a whole company. What other designs could be stolen/copied from small artists around the world we don't know about? I'm pretty new to this community (following about 2 years, tail owner for 1), so I greatly appreciate listening to your knowledge and perspectives.
You got it! GreedâŚđĽş
Iâm putting together another video on this topic and Iâm hoping to have it done for this weekend. Itâs a biggie though and Iâll be talking about the mermaid tail catalogue Iâve mentioned a few times here and there.
@@CourtneyMermaid YES!đ
âNothing in nature exists that looks like this that you could have referenced to create something this close to being similarâ đđ˝ đđ˝
â¨Yeah make the tail, donât make the same tailâ¨
Also, side note, yes, please make a video about smaller tail makers, I think that would be so helpful â¨đ¤
I would love it if you made a video of all the smaller tail makers you know. That would be very cool.
I would really like to do this too. I know quite a few now and it would be lovely to showcase some of their work with my following as well.
I mean I've thought this about Lucia since the beginning lol. Anyone who starts their business with so much INTENTIONAL BRAND CONFUSION whether people can agree on copying or not...I thought this since the monofin
I plan to discuss the âbrand confusionâ issue in an upcoming video because I do believe it is intentional for sympathy and clout. I have been concerned about this too but I still believe that the monofin is a separate issue entirely. They did not make the fin, they are merely a distributor of it though they have led the entire community to believe otherwise. My next video is going to be a doozy and I hope people are ready for some serious truth to get dropped. I hope it helps people decide for themselves who they wish to support with their money.
Pre-watching it comment : FINALLY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Edit end of video : It was a good video, I thought it would have been longer XDDD
I had a talk about it on Instagram comments under one of the posts. There was someone who said how "They bought a FinFolk Mermaid Tail and that this one didn't look like a FinFolk"
And when I sent the link of the VERY FIRST post about this specific mermaid tail, being like "Do you have this mermaid tail too ?", they replied something, I don't remember, they were still defending Lucia. Which is insane..
Was there something else you wanted me to mention? On average people stop watching my content at the 6-8 minute mark. I wanted to make sure people actually finished this video.
@@CourtneyMermaid Oh, I really have no idea, I just thought you were going to say more things about it, hahaha. Because it is indeed a very upsetting topic.
And tbh, I'm starting to question even the whole thing about the monofin that everyone talked about, if people defending her were not actually in the wrong, because of this one thing, I don't trust Lucia to be ethical in general, now. You know what I mean ?
What the heck is wrong with people why would someone steal custom art work and say itâs completely different if you wanna take an idea at least make it a different tail shape thatâs unbelievable
Pretty much. đ¤ˇââď¸ no real effort was made to make this look different. You can plainly see two different mindsets at work here. Finfolk as an artist, innovating for the love of creation, and Mermaid Lucia who based their design requirements off of popularity with no consideration for the original creators. đ
Iâve been waiting for thiiiiiiiiiisssssss I was gagging I couldnât believe it how can you Blatantly rip off something so widely known and think nobody would say anything
What was rough for me was watching people support Mermaid Lucia and try to justify their actions. It was really upsetting.
I am looking forward to a video about where else to get the monofin cause I have someone that wants to join the community but has size 13 feet and that is the only fin we have been able to find that fits them. I love that you made this video, keep up the good work.
I have a few monofin videos on my channel but I am due to make a new one at some point. For larger feet (Iâm assuming you mean 13 mens yes?) I would look at a fin like the Minos though there are not typically skins available for it. You could also look at Mertailor and see what options are available. Thanks for watching! Good luck!
Courtney, I know these are tough topics to address. But I thank you on behalf of all the genuine artists, innovators, and entrepreneurs out there whoâve been or will be in this despicable situation because of a world that largely doesnât care or have respect. Iâm saddened for the FinFolk team, having to endure this piracy, yet again. Iâm saddened for Mermaid Lucia, who had so many other optionsâŚclearly her team hasnât done her any favors. And Iâm saddened that another great community is divided. People, once the excitement of youth and money and prestige have waned, you will see thereâs only one objective in this lifeâŚto leave it better than when you came into it. Where does supporting theft fit into that?
Thank you for the support. I am personally very disappointed by Luciaâs response to the whole thing though. I donât believe this to be an accident given that even the advertisements for the tail mimicked those of Finfolk.
What if we wanted to get their fin and not that tail? I was looking at one of their other tails/fin. Would there be harsh judgement for that?
Most of the knock off tails I've seen on amazon and ebay have all been fabric copies of finfolk silicone tails it's insane
Itâs rough to say the least.
@@CourtneyMermaid I feel so bad
This is one of the reasons why Iâm hesitant to put a lot of my character designs on social media. Like come on, I held these designs near and dear to my heart for years and I donât want them to be taken away from me.
Question/theory: if Mermaid Lucia gets some of their products from a large catalogue, is it possible that Ladonna Mermaid (a Thai mermaid company) is getting them from the same source? Iâve just noticed a lot of similarities between their tails and was curious.
The moment I saw Luciaâs âtailâ I was like noâŚ.. thatâs serenityâs tails⌠wtf *facepalm*
Yep. I wish I had recorded my reaction to the whole thing. It was epic.
How can I subscribe to the site if you have one and why?
Iâm glad youâre speaking on this Courtney, Iâm shocked with the identical marketing!!! Right down to it! Itâs a rough reality for artists and creatives, so disappointing thank you
The was the real piss-off for me. Like they couldnât even come up with a different marketing strategy they had to use the same lantern idea that Finfolk had. It makes me so mad.
True, right down to the same markingsâŚand still they did such a shitty job. Apart from the obvious piracy issues behind Mermaid Lucia and company, I would be embarrassed to have produced this quality of digital artwork.
hello I'm a costume maker/designer from Indonesia, i studied costume for theater, film, and movie for 3 years in the US (Los Angeles) and working professionally for 5.
the amount of research i had to do for one outfit could take weeks and then creating a design is draft after draft after draft until i am able to have one that works perfectly. then the making of the outfit/costume it self could took months depend on how difficult it is.
when you steal a design or made something very similar to it it will be obvious, if you want it for yourself while its not available to purchase cause it's one of the kind piece that's one one in existence sure... for yourself. but to take the idea and sell it for your own benefit not considering the amount of work the original artist took to get there is just disrespectful.
it's not the item... it's our effort
Thank you @Courtneymermaid for making this video! Once again thank you for making this video. We definitely needed this, especially now because people haven't creative thinking skills anymore,
Itâs pretty clear to me that some people are seriously out of touch with how artists/creatives actually feel about situations like this and how it actually DOES impact the community and businesses as a whole. Thank you so much for your support!
@@CourtneyMermaid Your totally welcome, I will always show support for merfolk community â¤ď¸. Be one the look out for any order from me too.
What are your thoughts on Merbella Studio silicone tails?
Thank you so much for this video. That tail is a blatant ripoff and I am beyond shocked at how some people refused to see that fact.
You and me both. The number of people who are shrugging it off as if it isnât a huge deal is disturbing to say the least. :(
@@CourtneyMermaid these are the same type of people who accept inequality as a way of life. Sad.
I hate when people copy other artists work i want a silicon tail soooo bad based off a lion fish but its difficult to find companys that make silicon tails can you help me find some
So I made a comment on my frustration and heartbreak over this and then it was promptly consumed by the void. But the basic points were:
As recently as a couple months back, finfolk had said in an ask me anything on instagram(which last i checked, was still up in their highlights) that they wanted to make another led tail and so the argument of 'they only made one and we all want one too' doesn't even hold water on that level, not that it was a fair argument to begin with, since this was a custom art piece for someone.
As a multimedia artist myself who sculpts, sews, designs original pieces of art and fashion (though admittedly not on the level of a professional tailmaker) I know how awful this kind of thing feels. I have difficulty empathizing with others directly due to brain stuff I won't go into here, but this isn't a challenging concept folks. When you copy someone's original art piece that they worked hard on without permission and credit, it is cruel. What Lucia did here was cruel. This is on the same level as an intentional act of violence, for creatives. For an analogy, it is as though Lucia walked up to Finfolk, punched them for no discernible reason, and grabbed their belongings out of their hands.
And that is not okay. I do not care if Finfolk has had customer relations problems as someone has brought up, I do not care if they are a big company or a small one, and I do not care if they make a lot of profit or only a little per project. Someone or a couple of someones created a custom, involved, one of a kind art piece for a client, and it is absolutely inexcusable to have copied their design without permission like this.
I am so upset by this whole thing.
I definitely agree with you on this and itâs so disappointing to see people argue otherwise. :(
There is no end to the blatant ugly. Those folks who claim any artist deserve to be copied should be banned for life.
O no! And I have a Lucia monofin and just messaged you about if the Serena would work for it! Thatâs terrible when people steal others work đ
Thank you for this video. I did not understand at first, when I saw this specific tail, I followed Mermaid Lucia for some time, and I was sooooo disappointed to see they stole Finfolk's art and unique design. I understand some of the comments, finfolk tails are indeed expensive, but this is worth it: the time spent to create these, the materials, the tests, the hard work, all of it has a price, and it's normal to pay it. We have to be aware of what the price means, what's behind it.
I was planning on getting one of Mermaid Lucia's tails, but now I won't, because what they did is deeply unrespectful and so far from my values.
Anyway... keep up the good work. Don't let them go into your head and make you panic they'll steal your work too. Easier said than done though. But really, your work is valuable, inspiring, hard, and you carry certain values that need to be carried in the mermaid community. So if you and other tail makers stop creating stuff, we are all lost!
Thank you so much for your support, for watching my video, and for your comment!
Its a shame this is happening because i find their
Fish fin monofin to be one of my favorite⌠this is so sad
I'd be willing to bet if any of the knock off supporters had received a custom tail whose design was then stolen they'd get mad about it.
Also, I remembered to come watch this because Lucia is posting sales links in a bunch of tail sale Facebook groups. With a lovely little note: "Ps. For this LED tail series, we have already registered the multinational design rights + multinational copyrights + multinational product trademark groups to protect our intellectual property rights."
Just so much *audacity*
Unbelievable and so upsetting. They should be removed from buy/sell groups for this. Itâs such a violation of trust within our community. It bothers me so much that so few people seem to care.
I would love to hear a video about these tail making companies from china etc. I bought a tail from the brand AturDive and I did research and couldn't fine that this is a copy. Therefore i bought it. But I would love to hear from you if they are legit (was my first tail but now i buy only from "established" tailmakers) Take care!
I have a video in the works as we speak! Hang tight! Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
Why do you make tails for the Lucia Fish Fin?
Please rewatch the videos you have left comments on because I have already explained this a few times over. I make tails for the fish fin. I donât support Lucia. They, in my opinion, are only a distributor and I am not purchasing fins from them.
another thing that's wrong about this is the safety issue. (as the rest has already been said) Finfolk made the original silicone version. and that took a long time to make and for good reason. any rip off version of it is automatically not safe. sure it can be good enough but it will be less safe for the person who buys it. not only do they also get backlash for buying a tail they possibly didn't know was a stolen design but also didn't know they didn't create the safety and design like that. meaning a lot could be wrong with it because they didn't invent it themselves.
Wow, I had no idea mermaid Lucia was not the creator of the fish fin! Totally changes your perception..
It definitely does right? It made me so uncomfortable when I found out. The irony is, is that I would still have bought it through Lucia and been happy to support them if Iâd known it was something they purchased through a supplier. Like why the runaround?
I'm trying to find the tea about Mermaid Lucia stealing the butterfly top design too..
I agree with you I unfollows them Iâm thinking Lucia doesnât care Iâm not supporting them if all they want to do is make excuses then Iâm outing myself snd dollars to something that not a rip off
I think they would be fine to continue on as a company if they properly addressed this, acknowledged their wrongdoing and made an effort to be more transparent about their processes and business practices as a whole. Itâs just such a shame that they think that this is OK. :(
@@CourtneyMermaid exactly and until it if that happens I may continue to support them I hope they do t attack you in anyway when your just speaking the truth
I was pretty surprised at the amount of people who were saying this was not pretty much a copy! Thanks for speaking on it.
Some companies use bot and paid shill accounts to hype their products and position.
Sadly it was only a matter of time before this happened.
It isnât the first time and it wonât be the last but we as a community need to come together and express dislike of this business tactic. The mermaids in our community deserve better as do our makers.
@@CourtneyMermaid yes you do. All artists deserve their credit and recognition. It's a sad sign for the world when it's easier to copy and paste someone's ideas and creations as opposed to creating something new and fresh.
Courtney, Ted here, I do realize that you and your fellow mermaid tail makers are working very hard to run and make a business survive, I have also seen similar videos that you have produced on the subject, and I agree, it does get me upset, why can't somebody make something on their own which is an ORIGINAL not a copy, and sell it as their own, like this ahs got to stop.
Thank you so much for watching Ted, and for your support!
I think it( this is random) that it would be cool to have a pink led tail !!đ
i haven't been keeping up with mer-tea or drama so has mermaid Lucia done this before, ripped off another design and tried to claim it as their own?
The tea was largely based around Lucia and another company (Ladonna) and a monofin (the Fish Fin) which they both distribute. Lucia was claiming that Ladonna was ripping off their design when evidence (and perhaps too much research?) has led me to believe that they are both just distributors of the fin.
It is so sad to
Us creatives , to have to live in the constant fear of being ripped off!!!!
Like you said, there are so many ways to incorporate LEDs into mermaid tails without directly copying like this. It's a very cool concept, no one is saying you can't do that, but they made absolutely no effort to make something original that's their own
The whole thing with people saying that everyone should have access with that tail design PISSED me off. Thatâs like saying, oh someone made this mermaid character and everyone should have access to playing that character. NO. Copyrights exist for a reason!!! Youâre not entitled to other peoples work!!! Ugh the audacity of this entitled.
*seeing so many designs from companies I know and being like* Ahhhhhh nopooooo! I saw Marbella transfers, Mertailor, some mernation obviously lots of fin folk and finfun ugh
My question is why are the big three so closed off about expanding their employee base? I will forever have beef with Mertailor for how terrible Eric was to me when I found him 18 years ago right after he started.
Where are all of us artists who arenât skinny and marketable as for-hire-mermaids supposed to go? Why do we have to keep popping up smaller failing businesses instead of paths to working for the companies we respect?
This isn't something like a koi fish tail where it's always going to look kinda similar
Being someone in the art community moreso than mermaiding, if you look at these tails with the same mindset that we look at OCs (original characters) Lucia would be roasted alive on a pike. I see this issue in almost every craft to do with custom personalized art. Fursuits, characters, tattoos, mermaid tails, ooak dolls... There's always someone there to steal other's art.
Oh wow thatâs deliberate. I would try to sue them anyway out of principal.
It's a total knock-off and the worst part it's that the plagiators assure is not a copy. Beach please...
Its definitely no fun for the original tail maker its never right to steal someone elseâs art work a lot of time and effort got put into it
Thank you for your support on this!
@@CourtneyMermaid no problem Iâd definitely me sad/upset if someone stole original art for me and im sure all the artists whoâs art was stolen feels the same
FINFOLKS DESINGS ARE SO BEAUTIFUL AND SO UNIQUE, I CANT UNDERSTAND HOW SOME PEOPLE DOES NOT SEE HOW RUDE THAT IS!!
My friend đ¤ I'm a little Tailmaker trying to make it in this world. You know that my biggest fear is that someone steals my fluke and shape design's đĽđĽđĽmy Art is my heart đ¤ so i hope it will never happen to me or anyone else.
Honestly I felt off about the tail like literally insulting the maker đ I canât stand that sort of thing
Love your content.
Thank you!
They have been making led tails for a lot longer than finfolk but they were totally different. They (Lucias team) definitely copied this one. Like you said its not about the leds.
Also if shes patenting this design what does that mean for finfolk? Will they end up getting sued over it even though they made theirs first?
LED tails have been around a lot longer than Mermaid Lucia as well and as a specific point, you can see that Finfolk did not copy Lucia (even though Lucia has had LED tails in their roster longer). As far as the ip/patent thing goes I would need to see her actual patent application to know what she is actually attempting in this case. For patents you need to prove that your idea is unique and fulfills a need in a specifically innovative way. Itâs also difficult to register a mermaid tail as an ip/trademark as it is considered âuseful articles,â meaning that it is generally more complicated than trademarking a name or logo or something brand/business specific. This is my understanding at face-value and I would need to do more research on this to give a more complete/accurate response. Maybe it needs itâs own video?
They will rip you off Courtney do whatever you can to make sure your artwork stays yours. I'm not sure how you do that or the correct term for it, but you should protect your work.
I follow so manyt artists. One cosplayer and artist designs cosplay concepts for people who pay her to design it. You MUST get permission to also cosplay that design from the cosplayer since they paid to have that design made.
Same concept here. Sirenity paid to have this tail designed and made. It belongs to her and Finfolk. Mermaid Lucia just made a cheap rip off of it and it's so blatantly obvious. Talk about have NO originality.
WoW, maybe keeping the fluke design but CHANGING the colors to much warmer colors would of made Luciaâs tail design much better and not a rip off.
To be honest itâs the entire thing thatâs the issue, not just the colours. They could make it neon pink but the whole concept for this tail was stolen from Finfolk regardless.
Wow, this is disgusting. I can't even wrap my head around doing business this way. Self entitlement will never cease to amaze me.
I hope this doesn't happen to you, too.
It has happened to me in the past but I donât usually make a big stink about it if I can avoid it. That said I am making an effort to put together more informational content like this to help better inform our community so that they can keep themselves safe as well.
I'm sorry you had to go through that. It must feel terrible to have your hard work stolen like this.
If they receeated it with credit to the artist and didnt sell it, i think it would be fine. But yeah this is not original
This is awful. I wish you the best of luck with your tails. I think people are perfectly allowed to have items that only exist to them. In this society scarcity is what makes something valuable. That tail is a one of a kind. You might have discussed this before, but what are your thoughts on people making home made copies of tails like that does that make it different since they are making it for them selves and not looking to profit off it?
Slippery slope. Iâd be willing to bet you could make an LED tail design thatâs all you. Different fluke/fins, different LED placementâŚyou got this!đđ
@@cyaneablue9984 thank you so much.. i have an original design though no LEDS đ. I am not very electricaly knowledgeable. (I think I would use glow pigment, then there is no battery usage or waste.) But I know I have seen a few betta designs that heavily inspired a separate design of mine. But let's say I made a copy of one I saw for my own private separate use (I haven't as I dont yet have the funds or time to make my own) to not make any profit off of it, I was wondering if that would be seen as still not okay I can see both sides, I would just like to hear another's opinion if they are willing to share.
@@lori5774 I think itâs different for each artist. To be safe, Iâd contact the artist whose work you want to recreate. Thereâs usually more to a piece of art than the materials and an aesthetic appeal.
Just my perspectiveâŚif someone asked to use my work as inspo to create something for personal enjoyment, and made it clear to friends/family/following where the inspo originated, I would be honored. Iâve had many a student copy my work as a building block to their skill. And as a born collaborator, it thrills my heart to know I was a part of their self discovery.
However, I say slippery slope for a few reasons. While this kind of mimicry can be flattering, it can be a crutch for those to not fully discover innate potential. It gets easier and easier to borrow from someone else. Eventually comes the failure to gain consent, give proper acknowledgement, or even recognize when the work is not truly their own, even if monetization is not initially the driver. I say âinitiallyâ because eventually profit comes into the picture. Art is far too expensive for it not to. And then thereâs this thing where an artistâs work can be deeply personal. Some of my work has been the cry of my soulâŚpainstaking days of no sleepâŚjust pouring myself into a vessel of intimate expression. Itâs the part of me that took guts to communicate to a world I would rather hide from. It would be mortifying to have these works made common place by someone who just wanted their own version of me.
Now, I cannot speak for these other artists, but Iâd be willing to bet communication is key when wanting to build on their vision.
Hope this helpsâŚand best of luck with your tail!đ
Itâs really sticky for me. My rule of thumb is if I were to show my version to the artist I referenced, would they see their work in my work right away? How would I even feel if the original artist were to stumble across my creation? If you canât answer those questions with confidence then I feel like the design (or whatever it is) might be too close.
@@CourtneyMermaid ok, thank you. I have full intentions of being as respectful to other artists as possible. I am a new comer and people like you have done so much hard work for this community you deserve so much respect. I find what you do so interesting and I appreciate all of the content you have made for people like us.
This is sad, revolting and disgusting. You can do so much with Art, you know? Create your own designs, be different, stand out, but no, Lucia opted for the fast way which was to just steal an OOAK design and claim her own. This is disrespectful. Karma will hit her one day. LOL "They Deserve it"? Nah, Lucia deserves to be yeeted away and suffer consequences. I wonder if she will steal another design -_-
Isn't that tail called the angler fluke, twins worked hard, đ
Love you
Love you too Dad. đ
Dude like...if you want to make an LED mermaid tail, then do it, but come ON. Have a little originality. Place the lights differently. Use different colors. Make a nre shape. Like...what???
Ah I should have waited in ordering my first monofin and fabric tail, I literally ordered last night from Lucia heck đŚđŚđŚ
I'm sure you can cancel, hopefully!
Please donât feel bad if you didnât know until now. These things are not often public knowledge and because Finfolk did not address the situation (understandable) and Lucia is heavily moderating her comment section. If you cannot cancel your order, donât panic. We can use this as an opportunity to educate people and make a note for next time. I will touch on all of this in my next video on this topic.
@@CourtneyMermaid I was thankfully able to cancel and now just waiting for the refund to process, in the mean time get to decide on where to go to instead đ
@@jenjenny867 I was thankfully able to get in contact and get a refund!
I also was considering their monofin, mostly to fit the larger tails Iâve designed. But since will not support piracy, itâs back to the drawing board for me!
This is so disrespectful. People need to stop sleeping on copyright. If you canât do a full legal copyright, the do a poor manâs copyright and mail your designs to yourself. Unfortunately inflation is way out of control an people are going to take advantage of others.
Welcome to the world of knock-offs. This is why patents exist. Unfortunately you're relying on people to have a conscience, but the rules are that it can be just different enough to not be a copy. And without a utility patent, the tech behind the beautiful tale can be targeted and re-used. Amazon is full off knock offs yet they're (unfortunately) extremely successful. I hope knowledge of this is enough to keep people from buying the knock off but I have a sad feeling it won't đ
I'm sorry but the only solution, even if it cost money and takes time is making a patent.
Patents are not always a possible solution.
@@CourtneyMermaid that's a sad news. Unfortunately I'm french so I don't know well your laws about the artistic area. In France we have a law called "intellectual property", she could go to the court and a judge would decree if it is a case of plagiarism or not...but of course, she would have to pay a lawer đ.
I get it... it was done in extremely poor taste yes however I definitely think that a fabric LED tail was coming. I am surprised finfolk didn't do it sooner because Lucia is not the only tail maker working on this.... many have them in the works presently. The styling and design of this tail is a rip off yes and I definitely wish that Mermaid Lucia, as a company, would have made a better choice in finaly making an LED fabric tail that most can now afford.
Mermaid Lucia had many other designs they could have promoted instead. Saying that this particular LED âwas comingâ is wrong. This tail design was not public domain and NOT free to use. This design belongs to Finfolk, if they wanted to release a fabric version, that was up to them! It was their original creation. If Lucia wanted to make another LED tail, they could have gone in ANY OTHER DIRECTION but instead chose to use something that had already been done. There is no âhoweverâ here. Mermaid Luciaâs designer ripped-off the Finfolk design and Mermaid Lucia decided that that was completely acceptable and for whatever bizarre reason the community seems to think itâs fine when itâs not. Our community needs to do better.
Sure! Bring on the LEDs and the underwater light shows! Just donât copy another artistâs work, tendril for tendril, unless thereâs an appropriate signed agreement/acknowledgment with said artist. There are so many other ways Mermaid Lucia and company could have rocked our world with an original LED tailâŚand still made bank. NowâŚwellâŚthey just look cheap.
And now I'm getting yelled at for agreeing. Right đ¤Śââď¸đ¤Śââď¸đ¤Śââď¸đ¤Śââď¸
@@jiujitsukitty9319 youâre not getting yelled at dear.đ Itâs clear youâre not in full agreement with Mermaid Luciaâs dealings with FinFolk. The âhoweverâ in your statement lends to a mild justification, if not and appearance of complacency, but it sounds like thatâs not how you meant it.?
I am a professional artist, and I am going to give a HIGHLY unpopular opinion. It really honestly, does not matter. At all. Yes it was wrong. With no uncertainty it was very wrong. However, it isn't hurting Finfolk, and they can't and don't own the design. Finfolk lost exactly zero money and business. In fact if anything, in it's own round about way, this just made more people flock to Finfolk.
I have made custom pieces many times. And if I did a one of a kind, that got hugely popular, I have a few options, either, sell it myself (the smart move). Or tell people I am not going to make more. But if I opt for the later choice, and i DO NOT sell any more, even though I can plainly see it's popularity. Then I have no right to be massively surprised and upset when I see someone else do it.
And not as good I might add. I could as the artist be annoyed they used my design without my blessing, but if i'm honest, I would either get over it. Or move forward and make it myself and sell better ones.
My point is, this isn't hurting Finfolk at all. Not business wise and not financially. At best, its a small ego stab. And trust me, they will get over it. If they in the future decide to sell fabric versions of the LED tail, they will sell out. So as I said in the beginning, it really, genuinely, does not, and can not matter.
And as an aside, no artists don't "owe" you their artwork. We just aren't allowed to be upset when we blatantly ignore our clients wishes. Yes again this was very tactless and rude, but I mean, too bad. If I designed this and ignored the wishes of my clients. The most i'm allowed to be upset, is that they didn't ask my blessing in making the tail. Other than that, yeah it's kinda on me.
In closing though, I still think this is very wrong. They should not have just copied the design. But my point is, Finfolk didn't get hurt by that. I still think it's a dirty move though.
You are right, this is a highly unpopular opinion and for good reason. As a âprofessional artistâ you should know better. This DOES actually hurt our industry. If we start saying that copies like this are totally fine, it opens the gates for all sorts of other companies to come in and start ripping us all off. If you have never had someone copy or rip-off your work then you cannot imagine how shitty it feels. Knock-off tails are watering down our industry with poorly made, potentially unsafe products and taking away work from genuine artists trying to make a living doing what they are passionate about. If I am honest I cannot even believe you said âwe just arenât allowed to be upset when we blatantly ignore our clients wishes.â WE DONâT OWE PEOPLE OUR ARTWORK. Just because Finfolk decided to only make one (and who even knows what they actually have planned for the future) does not make this OK in any way shape or form. Good for you that you are just able to âget over itâ since this obviously means your income isnât solely based around your artistic creations, or you have never had to experience the ramifications of having your work copied like this. Finfolk DID get hurt by this and just because they have decided not to say something publicly about it, doesnât mean it isnât true.
@@CourtneyMermaid This freaking comment. People baffle me
@@Daniella__Enchanted me too.
to be fair, silicone tail with led lights can't be trademarked. i know that one copied another idea - but welcome to capitalism. as long as you tweak the design a little so it doesnt look like a carbon copy - then it's fine. not that i agree with it, but it is what it is.
ya they didn't even try to "tweak the design a little" and that logic is flawed as it would need to be changed a lot more then a little to be considered different enough to be a Derivative work under copyright law. Artwork witch this is only copyrightable when Its an original work not a blatant copy : it must originate with you and show some minimal amount of creativity. basically some one needs to get sued its the only way to stop this type of infringement
Please letâs be fully candidâŚitâs not JUST a copied idea. Iâm glad you donât agree with whatâs been done, and Iâm sure if this were done to you, youâd be equally and justifiably outraged. So, letâs not be slave to the capitalism narrative, rather support the true innovations and collaborations that build excellence.
Respectfully I don't give a f***
Respectfully why even waste your time then? If my content isnât for you thatâs fine Sheena.
I fail to see where thatâs respectfulâŚđ¤
did finfolk have a patent would that have avoided the Copying,,,,because that looks like what happened here, it was obviously copied
I saw this and my heart dropped, I just finished paying for a custom order from mermaid Lucia and I had no idea any of this was happening, I sent my own designs and everything for it đĽ˛
Totally agree with you. I feel your anger.
I love that you you support other companyâs. đŞđźđŤśđź