Topic: "Hasbro Let Fans Sell Fan-Made Products"

[ZeroTwentythree]

http://3dprintingindustry.com/2014/08/28/shapeways-hasbro-let-fans-sell-fan-made-transformers-little-pony-products-superfanart/


Interesting article. I think it's great to see a company work *with* fans/consumers of their IP and create an outlet for scalable licensing, rather than wielding a legal sledgehammer at them. To me it seems like everybody wins. Hasboro gets to collect licensing fees, retains some control over what's approved, and doesn't have to spend time/money on lawyers and C&D letters. Artists/entrepreneurs get to work with IP that would otherwise be out of reach. Fans/collectors get access to a wider range of products.

[Finlay]

I posted that GW should do this with shapeways for specialist games l;ast week, after finding a bunch of BFG models on there

[Timbor]

Innovative companies will always find a way to turn a profit from new technology.  That is a pretty cool article.  It reminds me of the transition from the advent of Napster and forecasts of doom for the music industry.  Then iTunes showed up eventually, and now it is a widely used and profitable business model.

I think it boils down to most honest people are willing to pay a fair price for a fair product.  People who don't want to pay will either use pirated material or will not buy anything anyway.  When filesharing started, I used it, but now that I am older and have a steady job and a sense of social responsibility, I pay for what I use.

If GW followed the same route, I imagine the same thing would happen.  Those who don't want to pay will use pirated stuff regardless, those who appreciate the product will pay to use it, and the community will benefit.

Mind you, remember my first point - people are willing to pay a fair price for a fair product.  That is typically the main sticking point with GW regardless of how they guard their IP...

[ZeroTwentythree]

I agree. Seems like a good example of forward thinking. As the article points out, the fact that they opened it up to their other products shows that hey believe it is working, too.

*EDIT* Maybe not even "forward thinking." It's more like thinking in the present and dealing with technology and it's direct impact on how products are made, marketed, and sold, rather than trying to cling to the business models reliant on how things were in the past.

They can either set up a system where they get to approve what's made, retain control over their IP, and bring in licensing fees with no overhead costs from doing the actual production or distribution. Or they can continue to pay lawyers to chase after people who are doing it anyway, knowing that for every illegal operation they shut down, another will pop up anyway. If they're not actively promoting the products, they won't make much of an impact on sales of their current product lines. It will only be the old timers and die-hards that will be buying. Give the demand an outlet, make some money, and improve your image with regard to how you treat your fans.

[Mogsam]

3D printers aren't going to be as revolutionary as people think. They're still ludicrously expensive to produce small scale stuff on. Not to mention brittle. Not to mention half of them will warp in light.

Yes they're going to be bloody brilliant. But no. They're not going to blow casting out of the water. If anything people will use 3d printers to produce a master to make a mould from without needing to sculpt.

[Gankom]

I'm just excited because there's a small part of brain squealing in excitement. "The replicators from Star Trek are one step closer!!"