*Beware* 'Merc Masks' are a Wolfram Creative LLC product line!!!!

[WolframCreative]

It has come to my attention that Gotham City FX in Lake Mary, Florida is using a product line name from my company, Wolfram Creative LLC, to promote a similar product of theirs on your site. Owner Selman Markovic has just recently been adding "Merc Mask" in his sales description on eBay and other places to confuse consumers, and divert traffic from my company with a similar item. It is blatant misrepresentation.

These masks Wolfram Creative LLC have sold on E-bay since October of 2012 have been called Merc Masks (versions 1 and 2, with a 3rd variation in development) from the inception. I have sold multiple variations of blanks and custom inspired paint jobs and built a reputation for this company and name recognition to customers.

I am making the request that eBay ask Mr. Markovic at Gotham City FX to change his product name to something that does not infer that his product is in any way affiliated with my line of masks. The mask he offers is listed as a "Hero/ Villian Mask" on his own business site (GothamCityFX), and from what I understand only uses the Merc Mask name on eBay.

I did work with Mr. Markovic at Gotham City FX last year. I designed & fabricated several masks & accessories for private contract for his company. Mr. Markovic took one of the many masks I made for these costumes and is now selling it using the "Merc Mask" to capitalize on my work, which was done under contract, used for private costumes under the GCFX name. Unfortunately, I have been harassed by Mr. Markovic since dissolving our creative partnership, and this tactic is being used to confuse customers, and cause Wollfram Creative LLC undue hardship.

Had to post this, notified e-bay after finding out that Mr. Markovic was going after someone selling what he called "his Merc mask". It is tough trying to be an original artist to make cool products for people to buy, come up with an original name people remember it as, and then having someone (a former creative partner) ride your coat tails at best, take business away at worst. I know GCFX has a reputation here for being recasters of other artists Batman & Iron Man work, but to have to piggy back on a product line I developed and a name I have used for almost a year since starting my company with it, is just weak.

 

[RickHollandHFX]

Perhaps you should look at copywriting your creations. Good luck.

 

[Fireball Joe]

... I know GCFX has a reputation here for being recasters of other artists Batman & Iron Man work...

And you still did work for them!?! Or did you find that out after the fact?

 

[fallimar]

I wish copyright worked like that. :|
Sucks so hard to have your work stolen and sold on like that. Hope word get out.

 

[WolframCreative]

Word about how someone operates and the overall public reputation does more than legal stuff, IMO. With Wolfram Creative LLC I will testify that all my work is 100% my idea, from 100% my hands. AND, I'm always working on the next thing. I have an honest love for characters, and I hope you see that in my work.

 

[Robinson]

The sculpt may be all your work but you cant legally lay claim to it since it is based off an IP thats not yours to begin with. While someone taking your product and making a mold off of it suck, I dont think theres really anything you can do about it.

 

[WolframCreative]

The sculpt may be all your work but you cant legally lay claim to it since it is based off an IP thats not yours to begin with.

The paints are in itself something different to each mask that is made, and all three are designed to be a versatile sculpt and character friendly. Not that generic sculpted base blank masks are anything new, but nothing exactly like my product was out there for sale till last October. I'm just making sure no one is using my cosplay/ costume product line name to promote their cosplay/ costume products. Give it it's own name, and go from there.

 

[Robinson]

and thats fine, but I dont think you can persue him for making a deathstroke type mask whether its a recast of your mask or just using the same name as you since you didnt originate the deathstroke design

 

[WolframCreative]

It's not about that at all, and I'm confused how you made the jump. The noted company (and some others apparently) started doing sculpted balaclava masks that were painted as Deathstroke & other characters and Describing them as MERC MASKS. Which is a line of masks I produce, it is not individual alias name, since it covers 3 different individual masks with a unified theme. While I enjoy seeing other people doing variations of characters I enjoy, not a fan of people using my product line name to promote a different company's similar product. This was a clear attempt to use my hard work and self promotion to sell something Wolfram Creative has nothing to do with, be it a former employer using past shelved work painted and marketed to look like my current products, or some guy doing an Arkham Origins Deathstroke Mask on e-bay calling it a Merc Mask. It's hard to get any vein of originality in this field since it is full of unoriginal, greedy recasters. Even if it is a product line name.

 

[Robinson]

How many companies make rocky road ice cream? Mint n Chip?

How many companies make Kettle corn?

Basically you cant do anything about people using a name unless you are able to copyright that term. Its the brand and quality that will set you apart, and thats what you need to show. beyond I dont think theres really anything you can do.

 

[Shades]

Origins deathstroke maker here-

I use merc in my listing all the time and in hash tags. My deadpool stuff and deathstroke all has "merc" in the tags, hash tags, or descriptions. This is not about piggy backing on a generic mask's "branding" but to help my customers find my products. My images on my site also use this meta tag for seo reasons.


I got a threatening email from poster. I changed my listing because honestly its not worth arguing to me and it is to him. I have orders to fill.

I talked to our legal console and she laughed. Its not infringement without a filed copyright or trademark. But maybe I was being a dick, or don't care that much, or my time is worth something so we changed it.

We spoke with Gotham city FX and they had their own issues with Wolfram outside the merc mask issue. Their listing is still active using "merc mask". They do not plan to comply to the request.

I was not going to chime in, but since we were mentioned despite granting wolframs request, I'll share our view point.







Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Sorry WolframCreative, but you don't really have ground to stand on here...

 

[WolframCreative]

Yes Snakepit/ Shades, I politely warned you on e-bay about changing the name of your mask, because I've marketed mine since October of last year on my own site and e-bay. When did your digi-print mask come out that you are tagging as a Merc Mask? Since you want to make it public, I don't see any other reason to be polite about it. It is sad that people cannot just use another name, and sell their own product. I'v been in the mask making hobby almost 20 years, and the ego and boldness in ripping off and riding other peoples coat-tails is just out of control. as a community, we should be well placed to police our own before someone stupid causes a crackdown and we all suffer from it.

And mentioning GCFX like they have any clout here is funny, considering (as noted by a simple search on this site) have a infamous reputation for recasting other peoples work and calling it their own. Better be careful who you get in bed with in trying to flip me off while lifting my unrelated product name and ebay hits while shilling a direct infringement piece.

 

[Robinson]

The term "merc" has been around long before you used it, I'm not sure why you seem to think you have sole rights to use it.

 

[WolframCreative]

Also, you are not required to register a trademark to achieve some level of protection and that one may establish common law rights simply by using a mark in commerce. Yes, we are in the process of trademarking the Merc Mask officially, but as it stands right now, we were the 1st company to use this name to advertise our masks. So yes, we do have ground to stand on.

 

[Robinson]

Looking at the brief and most likely edited convo between you and the other guy brings me to say this. Name calling does nothing to help your case. Good luck in your efforts, but I dont think theres really much that you can do.

 

[Sourdoh]

I'm afraid that Robinson is right. You have no legal rights to the word "Merc" or even the term "Merc Mask". I see you are using the "griping on the forum" method of trying to discourage others from using your self-proclaimed private product name. That is your right, of course, but if you invest a few hundred buck in a consultation with a patents and copyrights lawyer, you will know the sad truth and you will have spent the money to hear that you haven't a leg to stand on. Sorry.

 

[BlackKaos]

I have to agree with Robinson also. You are upset for someone using your term "Merc Mask" and say that they are "riding your coat tail" because you were the first company to market the name but you are also paint the masks in DC Character/comic themes to market your masks which is the same thing as them using your "Merc Mask" title. All prop makers do this, inadvertently or directly. I use comic/movie character names to title my pep files but I don't get mad at other members for creating pep files that resemble mine or are titled like mine. I was one of the first to create a Red Hood pep file which I sell but there are other members who have created on and made it free. This also causes issues with my sales also but I'm not griping about it.

Now I could understand if someone recast your mask and sold it, like I would get upset if someone was selling my pep files. You have a good product and like many people who have good products there will be always someone out there that has the same idea or like the idea and want to try and expand on it there own way. That's life and the marketing business.

 

[Shades]

Well I did what you asked and still got drug into it. Go figure.

I am not in bed with Gotham FX. I just asked them a question to get their take.

If they are such terrible wrong doers why did you work for them? We routinley deny sales or assitance to know recasters.
It seems you are interested only in protecting the community till someone cuts you a check.

The dumb thing is if you had just said hey man- we have worked hard to make this our own term I would have changed it for you. Even when you made threats that will never hold up I still did it. Yet it still gets brought up. *Sigh*

Because we build full costumes and try to offer advice and direction where possible to our clients we get a ton of emails asking for advice on where to get something or how to build.it. When I have gotten asked for comissions for arrow deathstroke or new 52 style, I had been directing them to you. That's just an FYI.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[WolframCreative]

See, I did send you a professional, "polite" request to change your products tagged name through e-bay, which you did. But now here you are above stating you simply disregarded my request, and then label it in public, artist forum as a "threat" to you. Very telling.

I have friends who make premium replicas of Michael Myers Masks, and they have so many different names for the masks to identify them by sculptor & artist, and to sort out recasters and plagiarists of other artists. I've been asking them for advice about this situation, and they are shocked that other artists would even permit this kind of behavior. A name is all an artist has to show that the mask/ product in question is theirs. I'm a little disappointed that anyone here would say that an artist has no rights to a product line name that they came up with to highlight their items in a crowded competitive market. Especially given those little details are important for artists to form their own product identity . I'm have not (and have never said) no one is exclusive in doing takes on these characters (there are already dozens of Arkham Origins style Deathstroke masks in development just on this site), it's just that in regards to calling something a "Merc Mask" (which stating again is trademarked as a product line in my LLC) it is a matter of using a name I have identified with my company and the products it has since October of last year. Call it something else, Ninja Mask, Hero Villian mask, Terminator1980 mask, just call it your own thing (since we all know they cannot be called Deathstroke, Deadpool, Bane, Spawn, Venom, etc.)