Fan Merch Made This VTUBER Crash Out On Twitter...

[@ferbusgddc]

I think the biggest issue is that it was a private commission, they made one or two too many, and then wanted to give it out. It’s not like they were purposely making it for general sale.

[@cyokyo-user]

I would say how she felt wasn’t wrong ,but the way she handled was one of the worst ways to go about something like that.

[@katliente]

I absolutely agree! The way you respond plays a big part and gumpai’s response was…anything but savory 🥲

[@lizhuhart]

What if they already knew they gonna getting away with this cause the way of this vtuber angry temper will eventually destroyed themselves, which is a fame grab for being a reverse victimized what they likely created. I knew things are very aggressively easily nowadays but when they’re a fan and learn their motive of this vtuber so you understood why this whole drama happening.

[@jackiep2042]

@@lizhuhartyour comment doesn’t really make sense, but if you’re saying that the toy maker predicted this would happen, that’s kinda crazy. there are way too many variables involved. it’s an illogical conclusion to come to. Occam’s razor.

[@ca678.4]

Typical twitter indie vtuber. They always act the worst way they can even when the situation doesn’t call for it. It’s performative as hell

[@Louca-pv9ne]

the way the toy maker responded makes me think that if the vtuber tried respectfully dming them that they would comply with what she wished.

[@21kkn]

I think its so insane that gumpai said in the same breath "why didnt they just send me the extras" while calling it a knock off and acting like theyre some ugly bootleg. If you hate it's existence why would you want it... ?

[@yuri_nori]

I was wondering the same which confused me so much 🤨

[@MIUT3D]

To sell them herself for profit on work she didn't do is as far as I can estimate from her responses shown. She seems really miffed that she didn't make royalties off of this handmade plushie.

[@21kkn]

@@MIUT3D it still bring into question if she thought they were so low quality why would she want to resell them herself , it just looks even worse on her part

[@MIUT3D]

@@21kkn Agreed, I can only reason that it would be free money for her regardless. Even if she thought they were garbage, she could still profit off work she didn't have to do.

[@MesmerizerMikuuuu]

As someone who calls bootleg merch ugly all the time, I want the merch because it's ugly. If no one wants it, I want it solely because it's ugly. As long as it's not possessed, dirty, and doesn't have a camera to track my location, I want bootleg merch. And even if I say I hate it, it just means I love it. It's my way of showing affection. Torturing and calling it ugly ^^ (Although I wouldn't want a vtuber's merch unless they're good friends with a youtuber I like, or they're my friend. Most of the time, it's the former, as I don't have friends who are vtubers. I only have a friend who makes vtuber models though, so if a vtuber happens to have their model made by my friend, I might by their merch.)

[@ChisaBero]

I understand where gumpai is coming from, BUT the way they handled it was way out of line. The racism jumped out, and I no longer care about how they feel about this situation

[@sres4]

Yeah any benefit of the doubt I had for her was just gone after the racist comments 😭

[@MoistNasa]

I got commissions in the past to do art of another artists OC or a vtuber, and my rule has always been that I won’t do it unless you have written permission from the owner of that character. Most creators are totally cool with it, and really appreciate people simply asking for permission. Win win for everyone.

[@katliente]

this is so smart!

[@HollywoodGaming19]

thank you for saying this.

[@IxiaRayne]

Thiiiiisssss is so important.

[@X1Daring2]

Gumpai is a kick streamer who uses 4chan, i can't say I'm surprised, she was controversial from the start, don't even get me started with the "rope" on her neck, she's terrible smh

[@Sakuraai361]

I hate people that think that type is “humour” is funny or edgy

[@Lulusacrifice]

HUH-??? LINK??

[@Reikyuuni]

I feel so bad for the original commissioner. Imagine loving a vtuber so much you to pay someone to make a plushie of them and then this happens lol

[@sillylad69]

I think that the intention matters. Most likely illegal, however like you said- you can be right legally- but in the wrong in our society. The attitude she displayed honestly probably made her lose some of her fans, due to her outburst. There was no need to be ignorant, or irrational. This could've gone wayyyyyyyy different if only she had the compacity to not callout a small indie craft maker, who only made her character due to a commission THEY received. Then she escalated it making semi racist remarks about his country. The ounce of any wrongness he did making the plush doesn't matter now that she took that to a WHOLE different level. Ruining her public image because of this. She mentally isn't all there. I hope she realizes her mistake.

[@katliente]

you worded this so well!

[@claudeyaz]

And I'm starting to wonder if there should be exceptions or Gray areas in that maw.. because of the vtuber character is pretty much an idol, I can see it not being seen as an intellectual property in the future.. But an extension of an identity or a brand or an idol

[@mica4977]

@@claudeyaz I imagine the only way for there to be an exception is if the IP holder is able to profit more solidly (even if it's from clear stats showcasing a grow in viewers/etc) from it in order to normalize it socially. Kind of similar with how it's now more than ever normalized for gameplays to exist (even for Nintendo games I think?) with how it was shown popular youtubers/streamers gain devs sales when they would play their games even though in the beginning there were some devs who weren't on board with the idea. Yet the same doesn't apply with people creating audio-books (read-alongs) of books or watch-alongs of movies because they hold their IP closer.

[@Kyurigachz]

Sadly, she got thousands of more subscribers and hundreds of more viewers

[@AnaosPoffu]

gumpai is a terrible person. the racist remarks and the absolute insulting of his custom work is insane. imagine having someone make work of you for a fan and you not supporting it, and being mad you didnt get shit for free. idc how anyone feels about it, kusa is well known in the vtuber sphere for his amazing work. hes worked with quite a few popular vtubers as well. imagine shitting on such a cute plushie and then bringing their race into it. its not mass produced, its a custom because one of your fans loved you so much to get a plush of you. this situation was so frustrating to watch unfold

[@BlueBrawler0]

It's just as frustrating to watch from the other side, to see a massive potential injustice campaign against Gumpei. "imagine having someone make work of you for a fan and you not supporting it, and being mad you didnt get shit for free" It's called consent, having illegal plushies made of you without your permission is a good reason to be upset. "idc how anyone feels about it, kusa is well known in the vtuber sphere for his amazing work. hes worked with quite a few popular vtubers as well" that doesn't change the current situation. Someone's status shouldn't affect their position for their drama. This just adds more potential tragedy to Gumpai: rightfully calling out someone for stealing your IP, and get dogpiled because the other person is more well liked, with most ignoring the situation at hand.

[@vvv8392]

From a legal standpoint point they had the right to be upset that their original character was being profited off of without their permission, but the racist remark wasn’t.

[@yuna-tama]

@@BlueBrawler0 "injustice against Gumpai", why do you care? look at the shit she posts, she's a literal racist

[@PowerninjaPlays]

Nobody should be forced to be happy about people taking their ip. However, the hating was unnecessary

[@PowerninjaPlays]

​@BlueBrawler0 Crime is crime no matter who commits it. If the plushie maker was terrible and not well liked, people would not keep the same energy.

[@doghugs6840]

theyre projecting so hard "ohh theyre so money hungryyy they scammed my fans with handmade plushies made out of passion and support" like bro jus say you wanted the extra bucks and youre mad someone else got it even if theyre in a "poor country". theyre tryna paint the dollmaker like some temu company making unauthentic versions of an already designed doll, which doesnt exist in this case. and i bet theyre trying this narrative cuz the creator is from a "poorer country". (ps a lot of luxury shit are generated in poor countries)

[@mica4977]

Now we wait and see if she's brazen enough to all of a sudden appear with a new plushie line that looks oooodly similar to the so called "bootleg" version

[@kavehbf]

ahh stop guys don’t make ‘low quality’ plushies of my characters please guys pleaseee i totally wouldn’t buy one immediately and start loving it so so much

[@Celestiana06]

Maybe just dont break the law and make plushies of things you have the rights to. Its entitled as fuck to profit off someone elses design. The same crowd crying this is okay also say that AI art is not okay and tracing is stealing. Guess what? This is theft too.

[@kavehbf]

⁠@@Celestiana06i don’t think you understood my comment, I dont like gumpai. However she felt was valid until she falsely accused an artist of scamming and when offered by the artist to sort it privately she turned to racism instead. I could care less about how she feels. Ai art is nowhere near the same thing as a fanmade plushie by the way ?? ur comparison is just..weak…

[@Livvvv4ever]

Your bad

[@PAFU00x]

⁠@@Celestiana06Gumpai’s argument was valid to an extent, until she went completely berserk and started being an extremely racist asshole I doubt she actually cared about the actual issue of someone making a plushie of her model without consent (even though kusa was literally COMMISSIONED to do that) ,, she probably just wanted free stuff (which is really clearly shown in her future tweets…) Kusa is a wonderful person, and she made all his hard work seem so insignificant. I genuinely don’t see how anyone could take her side on this after all she did

[@BlueBrawler0]

@@kavehbf It's both IP theft. The "fanmade" plushie is still stealing IP. I can argue it's worst, AI art is instant. The plushie maker spent hours on the work, without stopping to think "do I have the legal and moral rights to do this? DO I have Gumpai's consent?".

[@AuroraPaintBrush4444]

I think there is a line between "Mass production" and a "small commission". Example: molds/3D printing in Mass that make 1000's of copies. Verses "botched prototypes" to sell, as to not toss them into the trashcan.

[@BlueBrawler0]

Legally, not, just the amount of damage. Where is that line? If 4 is too little, is 40 still little? 400? 4000?

[@AuroraPaintBrush4444]

@BlueBrawler0 Think about it from a Lawsuit perspective. Do you want to start a lawsuit against the person that made $2,000,000 in illegal sales, with a fan base of 1 Million followers, or do you want to make a legal case against a small Creator that has 2 followers and made $20 bucks? Sure both are technically breaking the copyright law, but think about the time and money it takes to bring it to court.

[@BlueBrawler0]

@@AuroraPaintBrush4444 Yeah, I agree with the decision, just commenting on the line your drew. It still sets a bad precedence, if Kusa is allowed to sell 4 plushies, where's the line? 40? 400? Gumpai should just sent a cease and desist to show an example, to stop before it gets out of hand.

[@AuroraPaintBrush4444]

@BlueBrawler0 Going to give Disney as an example of "big verses small response" Disney: Most of the public was behind Disney when they legally went after the film company, I think it was "Golden Films" when they had the Disney "versions" of designs on their own VHS covers. 1) Flase advertisement 2) They were a company, that had their own ability to have lawyers. But the public hated/gave Disney the side eye for going against the "little guy". 1) Spiderman headstone 🪦. A little boy died, his favorite character was Spider-Man, Disney took legal action against the family of a dead child. 2) a small daycare had Winnie the Pooh and pals painted on their walls. I think Disney went for the throat, and went for full legal action. No warning. People usually gives Disney a "pass" for going for "the little guy" when it's an Etsy seller, and Disney gives a "legal warning" instead of going "full lawsuit". It's all about how a company/copyright holder handles the situation. Like for a "little guy" a legal warning first is usually the better way to go. Going straight to the throat for a full on Lawsuits, isn't a good look.

[@Karma20XX]

Just contact the person privately and try to resolve. They might have lost more money destroying their reputation than they lost not getting a % of sales.

[@pinkmercy9592]

I don't really care about the laws in this scenario, she is a disgusting spoiled anti social brat. "Edgy" or "dark" humour is dead because of people like this tbh.

[@makayuris]

Looked up their name and immediately saw them using the r slur 😨 some people dont deserve platforms

[@BlueBrawler0]

What makes "r*pe" worse than "k*ll" or "stalk"? Words often used in this community?

[@babekonig]

soap pfp spotted

[@babekonig]

@@BlueBrawler0they r talking about a dif r word

[@innocehnt75]

u also cant rlly diagnose a person thru the internet and determine for sure that they really can't say that word. neurodivergents can reclaim it, we all know this.

[@indigofeilds9520]

@@BlueBrawler0they are talking about the slur for disabled people (r-trd) not rape.

[@emakilio541]

People dont understand everything is luxury including art, and not all for free, like use common sense here. Like the plushie creator did the right thing and making fanart is so cute.

[@YardLongBeans]

It isn't really an issue that Gumpai isn't happy with people making fan-merch, that is understandable. I just find it irresponsible and childish (not to mention rude) to make a stupid little call-out post. They could've just privately talked it over. Gumpai was being a little dramatic over like 3-4 plushies.

[@pukchuy]

I make custom nendoroids and I've had commissions from fans that want a custom vtuber nendoroid (from corpo and indies) and I've NEVER had any bad interaction with the vtubers I made nendoroid from. They are happy to see a nendoroid of their model and for the fan that got a unique figure of them. Gumpal reaction and subsequent tweets are really mean spirited.

[@richikupottv]

I feel like we shouldn't be surprised that she's a terrible person. She's a kick streamer. That being said It's always upsetting to see someone like her who's mean spirited and a genuinely awful person have an audience while smaller creators who are good people who put more effort and love into their content just struggle to grow.

[@CrowMaiden]

somehow, the entire attitude makes sense knowing she's on Kick.

[@simmimon]

wow her being on kick makes so much sense now lol.

[@kkkdi]

i love reading these comments because i agree with them so much

[@Choqbun]

While I agree on the fact that it’s THEIR character and they get to decide what their boundaries are of these characters. (It doesn’t matter how popular the character is. If the creator asks you not to do something, you are not entitled over them enough to do it anyways. You should be respecting their boundaries.) But how they handle it was terrible 😭

[@shiningsylvie]

as a handmade plush maker, making multiples of a commissioned plush is very 🤔 to me. the maker says they’re prototypes but in my experience, it’s too expensive materials-wise to make a Fully Complete plush and then start from scratch again, let alone three more times. That all is very strange to me, it really did make me think it was mass produced or at least had a manu, which means (to me) you cannot call this a handmade plush. idk! there’s some things I don’t understand here that said, the vtuber reacted to this hooooooooorribly, wow. those racist comments were really 😬

[@ZombiiDolletteVT]

Didn't they say they messed up on the bodies and had extra materials left over that they didn't want to waste? I think it's reasonable to use them for something rather than throwing them away.

[@shiningsylvie]

@ absolutely! And you are absolutely correct, it is reasonable to want to use those bodies to save materials, but the thing is, why wouldn’t those bodies be used for other, different plush? Bodies aren’t sewn clothed, so it’s really really strange to me that the person had to make multiples of the same commission when it could have been used elsewhere for a personal project or for a new commission at a discounted price. What I really think happened here is, the plush maker is not the one actually making the plush themselves and they’re outsourcing it to a manu. Which is honestly fine, I appreciate that there’s people willing to middleman services like that to offer cheaper solutions to customers! But I keep hearing the words “handmade” thrown around in this case and it feels like it’s a slap in the face to plush makers like myself that do our own embroidery and sewing and patterning. I’m very probably being pedantic over here over something I’m ultimately misunderstanding 😭 I wish there were better terms to distinguish between plush designers and plush makers.

[@TryinaD]

@@shiningsylvieI think the materials could’ve only made sense if assembled as this plushie, or there were mistakes that couldn’t be rectified. I commissioned a plushie of my OC once from a maker and there was a major mistake so she had to remake everything from scratch

[@animelover4allanime]

He actually didnt do anything wrong, because he made so few Hi i have an art degree and that includes a lengthy class on copyright, but because it was a small amount and a COMMISSION, its actually completley legal in the US It gets more grey because he sells them after the commission but it wouldnt hold in court

[@loukiwwililo1615]

Dude I didnt know a vtuber who commissioned me would ever be in one of your videos kdfjhjkhdfg ESPECIALLY NOT one of my very first vgen clients fghdfjg I genuinely didnt know they were a kick streamer, I just quickly looked at their twitter to see how other people drew them so that I could make their commission as good as I can and they were very nice when we were communicating :( I hope they admit their wrong and communicate with the plushie maker,,,

[@tarotsushima3332]

Ig it's because it's plushies but if this was any other type of fan merch people would unanimously clock Gumpai or wtv as being an asshole. I can get not being 100% okay with a third party profiting off of your image but going so far as to call him a scammer and disparage his work is just off the pale. No better way to encourage fanartists and crafters to grow your community like treating them like thieves and liars lol. Gumpai does have the higher ground legal wise but she's still an asshole. Edit: Just got to the racism/xenophobia too. If Gumpai wanted to make sure no one else bothered to commission any art or crafts of her, she sure did achieve it. Not to mention calling his work low quality knockoffs but still getting mad he didn't ship them to her so she could probably sell them at a marked up price either.

[@mudbucket1354]

i think the best thing to have done was just to reach out to the creator and ask if using their likeness is something they'd be comfortable with but with their attitude, greed and straight racism i don't think they deserve any respect here on out

[@wekkimekki]

atp twitter is deadly to the vtuber community 😭😭🙏🙏

[@lotusmelody6108]

I can’t fathom how terrible the commissioner must feel. Imagine, you love this creator/personality/celebrity and get something made of them. You then see that very person lose their absolute mind over this thing that could have been dealt with in messages. Then further go and insult the person you hired to make that item. Now it’s some weird war of taking sides. What do you do? All you wanted was a plush of someone you like.

[@Kaileighblue]

I get being annoyed that someone advertised in your discord, presumably without permission. A lot of people have rules about that. I even get being mad about the merch even if I wouldn't be. Say you do not like that and that's it. Your fans will police each other accordingly. Don't go on a big baby tirade. Is this person known for being hyperbolic? Like is that their gimmick or are they just doubling down after popping off while they were too mad to be reasonable. There seems to be a step in there of an artist being paid to design the plush turn around they don't have a problem with so I don't know where the line is there? As far as "profiting off the ip", as a small artist. Personally small batch art is fine as long as it's not mass produced. commissioning fanart, fine. Painting, sculpting one time things to sell, fine. Printing things to sell hundreds at a time... not so much.

[@Beeeeeewwwww]

I feel you should at least ask the person youre making nerch of to nake merch of them. Like it is still not their character to be making merch of. Just because someone else my be flattered to have it done to their oc doesn't mean someone else would. Just my opinions.

[@katliente]

I do think this would’ve been very helpful! Or as the artist, ask if consent had been given before taking this project on :o

[@lonelybunny9965]

while i understand gumpai point of view of not wanting people profiting off their vtuber model, they way they handles is still not okay.

[@lolaf1er]

This is reminding me of when people were getting upset at the creator of Welcome Home for asking people to not sell fan merch at cons, on etsy etc. He even stated he was okay with fans commissioning other artists for one off pieces but was uncomfortable with people moving to profit off a very personal project he had really only just started work on. It was kind of the inverse problem. He was super polite about it, apologetic, basically said that it was both a copyright issue and a personal comfort issue but didn't mind fans making or even commissioning one off products for themselves as an expression of their love for his project. It was clearly coming from a very specific place of knowing he had merch in the works and so needing to protect his IP on that front while also not wanting to seem ungrateful or alienate his fans. And people responded like he was a big company taking down small artists. There's a massive difference imo between Disney or Nintendo going after small fan artists vs. a small indie project creator asking their fans to respect their boundary in that way. That said he also was respectful. Gumpai, as the comments have already pointed out, is a kick streamer, 4channer ect. Not exactly communities known for their level headed and respectful rhetoric. Personally, if someone ever felt compelled to commission fan works for me in some way, shape or form I'd be flattered, but if she really had a problem with it there are clearly better ways to go about it and from my perspective it really seems like she just didn't want to admit she over reacted or back down in any way so doubled, tripled, quadrupled down to the detriment of a lot of her credibility in the larger vtuber sphere.

[@DeviBuster]

I saw the artists/plush makers post back when this first happened and my heart sank when reading. Poor artist was just commissioned to create a plush, which is super common these days, and that vtuber just blew up without even messaging them. I can't even understand why the vtuber acted like that, literally all they did was offer to hand out some fan merch. Legally is might be wrong, but no one abides by that law. If they did etsy wouldn't be as big as it is, considering a large portion of listings on there are fan merch. Most cons would be desolate because artists go to sell fan merch. All this vtuber needed to do was DM the artist for more info, or just ask them not to 'advertise' in the server. But they didn't do that. They felt it was more appropriate to post about them publicly and potentially direct harassment their way.

[@imsamilol]

12:46 bro im a vietnamese and i felt really upset and hurt after hearing that 😢

[@BlueBrawler0]

You have the rights to feel that way. But, they weren't attacking Vietnamese people, they were mentioning how cheap everything is in Vietnam, at least with USD. That could be seen as a complement.

[@fryerer]

@@BlueBrawler0 or you know, maybe not drag their country into this call out tweet in case it makes you look worse and disrespectful? maybe thats just me, maybe some people just cant keep their mouths shut.

[@セピラ]

Honestly, if she didn’t like people profiting off her character that much, she should make a public announcement and pin it somewhere. I get that it’s her character and she has the rights to be upset but acting the way she did will only turn people against her, especially when fan merch is considered free pr in most spaces. And thus the impact this plushies supposedly imposed on her future merch is a lot less significant than the impact she has already done to her own future merch. She ruined whatever growth her fandom will ever make on it’s own and I guarantee you it won’t grow with just her and that attitude of hers.

[@EvaHoshizora]

Correction about the law! You can make small things to sell within the law as long it's HAND MADE. If you hand painted a cup of Mickey Mouse, Disney can't actually hunt you down for selling it, as it falls under Copyright Protection. But you can't sell prints of the character Mickey as you are in theory mass producing something you made. Copyright doesn't necessarily protect you from small sellers, just from outright theft. HOWEVER, Trademark and Patents DOES protect for those. So unless Gumpai owns the Trademark of her character, she actually can't do ANYTHING about it.

[@Merilly]

The problem with VTubers calling out copyright infringement isn't necessarily that they are legally in the wrong, but morally. Many VTubers partake in copyright infringement by playing entire games for example which no longer falls under fair use in a lot of cases and the only reason their videos remain up is that it's accepted by the IP owner. So a VTuber now calling out what they themselves may be doing in a different sense is what rubs many the wrong way because if we go after small businesses and indvidual artists, we are opening the door for big companies to go on takedown sprees. Be it videos, fanart, fanwork in general, etc. I'm not a lawyer or judge, especially not in US law, but fair use is often thrown in as a protection even when it doesn't apply but as long as it's not 100% or even 80% copied, the viewers don't care. But it's a different thing if someone calls it out while doing the same. So regardless of what kind of person gumpai is, calling out small creators is not a good look. I don't know what they do but I assume they will also do videos of games, commentary, etc. and those often border on copyright infringement or are straight up plagiarism or copyright infringement disguised under the fair use banner. As I said, I'm not against transformative content at all. I love creativity. And as long as they are not producing thousands of plushies to make a profit from, I'd say it's fair. I think you said in a video that a Pikachu item in your shop had to be removed due to Nintendo likely requesting it, even if you did it yourself. So even on a small scale, it already happens. We don't need to create even more issues for small businesses and artists because we all know fanworks sell well and for artists, it's often hard to make sales with solely original content. So private requests for fanart that are not used commercially by the person ordering or produced in high quantities are usually deemed okay. And should be deemed okay. So even if they may have a legal leg to stand on, it's not a good idea to pursue it or discourage it or we'll have more and more issues even seeing fanwork due to people being afraid of posting it and getting asked to remove their hard work from all platforms. Once again, they may have a legal point but morally, it's not a good look as a content creator themselves.

[@Marrymochi]

Summery for those who don't wanna read all this: Your not entitled to disregard a creators feelings just because your a fan of them! AND don't be rude and racist to your fans that just made you fan merch!!! Onistly this is a sticky situation. The vtuber is in their right (legally and morally) to state their discomfort with the product. Just because your a fan does not mean you are intitled to disregard the creators feelings. BUT! The vtuber should not have gone about it the way they did. They should of bine kinder and try to handle it privately (and defintly not on twitter because twitter dont know how to act sometimes-).. also dont be racist just because someone made you into a markitable plushie

[@biii__10]

12:50 that comment set me off. They're only able to say that because they're privileged, I'm vietnamese and my family sometimes go to vietnam to visit family. We always had to pack 4 whole suitcases of ESSENTIALS because of how hard it is to make a living there. The job market is so bad that many people resort to serving food, which is cheap, and make their own business. Small businesses/freelancing there is so common because the poor would never be able to get enough money for schooling.

[@demon_warrior870]

To be honest with you, the vtuber she had her brain ane chucked it in the trash the moment she made those dumb claims and was a jerk to the person who made her the plus.

[@Celestiana06]

Dumb claims? They arent dumb. Its illegal. Why are you entitled children suddenly thinking its okay to profit off someone elses shit?

[@katliente]

the vtuber is not known for being a good person, that’s for sure 😅

[@fryerer]

@@Celestiana06 getting racist against a country due to 3-4 privately commissioned plushies is insane, its like no one knows that the best way to stop them from selling dolls based off of you is to privately ask them to stop making said dolls. i dont understand why people treat selling a few plushies of them like its a million dollar scam.

[@5eyoshi]

7:20 I fully agree with the legality, it should've been made if the owner of the modle did not want it made, but does that mean, all fanartists shouldn't create fanart of IP? Or should hesitate in doing so because they don't have explicit consent from owner of said IP?

[@BlueBrawler0]

Fanart that aren't monetized should be fine, as it's almost equivalent of just talkign about the IP.

[@kerckmars]

I will say probably isnt illegal since they arent in the same country, international ip law is immensely complicated

[@NoFoxGiven8]

arent commissions in a legal grey zone as the artist sells their time and not the product?

[@peachycottoncandy]

OMG this is crazy to see right after doing an art commission for them 😱

[@MxkoTsunxmi]

0:45 now the start of this is just bully behavior...

[@DTLamia]

Kusa or the commissioner definitely should have asked Gumpai, instead of just advertising on the server. They are justified to be upset, but the way they addressed it was really disrespectful and absolutely not okay.

[@PAFU00x]

Kat Im pretty sure Gumpai is from the Philippines! Does the law change in this case? I also do agree with your take! It is illegal, yes. But the absolutely HORRID way Gumpai handled this basically ruined her argument 😭

[@bearcoffeecake66]

Totally agree being uncomfortable with someone selling your likeness w/o you knowing & even promoting it in the server would be a step too far like wtf but that's like someone stepping on your foot by total accident only to have you spin the block & attempt to run me over with your car. The insults, racism & all around shitty behavior was unwarranted, even in a basic level, I hope Kusa gets more followers & clients

[@Kiras_Megalomania1994]

As an aspiring VTuber, I would very much be flattered if there was fan merch or fanart made of me. That's genuinely something I would love to see someday if I ever get bigger. My only big issue with this video is I don't know what the copyright laws in Vietnam are, they could be different than US copyright laws, and there's also the fact that we don't know what country gumpai lives in (I guess maybe US but idk for sure?), so the laws wherever they live could be different too. That's the only issue I had with this video, though

[@cherry414]

This is why I don't like making fanmerch and using it as business. Whenever I make my own fanmerch, it's for personal use

[@EepyPandi]

I get what she meant, but she handled it SO wrong

[@jollygirl94]

Tbh, it’s fan plushies, I can understand that gumpai dosent feel that she got profits from her chara. But imagine all the fan artists that does marvel and Disney fanarts, all the miku, JJK, MDZS fanarts. Commission plushies are not cheap, esp from factories so it’s a blessing to have a person working on it. Plushie maker is commiss to make plushies, they’re not at fault. But fan art/plushies are not morally illegal as long as they credit back the Original creator.

[@DizzyAlyx]

From where I see it, the plushie guy didnt do anything TOO bad. Ethically and legally questionable yes, but really not that big of a deal. A reasonable person would be flattered, or just not mind it. Its not okay to make and sell plushies of someones character against their wishes, and maybe could have asked Gumpai first to find her stance on it. Having to get materials in bulk doesnt really become much of a problem (especially for a what im assuming is a well regarded and successful maker) until the plushies are made into a character. Could have asked, in hindsight should have asked, but its 3-4 plushies. Make your feelings known to the maker and let it go. Gumpai on the other hand, imo had a right not to like what they were doing, and a right to be upset. Her attitude however TOTALLY stinks. Right or no, shes the AH here based on her attitude alone. Made a callout instead of being civil, mocked their work, called people stupid for buying them, felt entitled to free shit, and then went racist and threw around "rpe" on top of it all. Jesus christ, what a child. What an over the top and unreasonable response to a situation like this.

[@BlueBrawler0]

Cycle of wrath, the initial callout could've been a reasonable warning. People jumped in to dunk on Gumpai. Some were invalidating how she should feel rather than just her actions, pushing her to make more Tweets. Also, moral question, why is it okay to use the words "k*ll" and "st*lk" figuratively (example, murdered by words, stalking someone's social media) but not r*pe?

[@fryerer]

@@BlueBrawler0 you're acting suspiciously like a bot, have you ever thought that it would have been better had she just privately talked it out with the dollmaker instead of publicly calling him out and disrespecting his country? moral question: its a personal opinion but i feel like "rape" isnt just a word that can be thrown around, but i think shes just dragging it on because thats the most attention she'll ever get in her career

[@goblingrimm4146]

I also do art and sell merch of a TikToker, working for her, and still get accused of theft of her characters. Theres alot of gray area when it comes copy rite, fan art, vs mass production and straight out theft and all comes down to if the IP owner wants to seek legal action. I've had people make art and sell items made from my own IP and the one I officially work for, and also had people straight up steal my art and re-sell it on their own things. I would rather it someone making fan art based on my property and selling a 1 of vs the other. I wouldn't be mad at this plushy maker. I would want a plushy of my own, and happy to pay for it. Support the artist.

[@casper1626]

can i say....these plushies are made of crochet. as a crocheter myself(literally making a beanie for my little brother as i type this) i can confidently say that the labor involved in crochet is so incredibly intensive. knitting can be machine replicated, but the stitches involved in crochet can only be made by hand. if these plushies were mass made, this would be a different story, but crochet plushies like those can take at least 50 hrs to construct(base, clothing, hair, assembly, etc) and its absolutely incredible with the talent and dedication that goes into kusa's art. please support them!!

[@Chireiya]

I agree with your take, tbh. As an artist I wouldn't want other people to sell merch of the character I use to represent myself, nor would I want people to commission others for merch of my character. I also would not take commissions to draw other creator's characters unless it was meant as a gift or explicit permission was given beforehand. That said, there are ways to handle this better for sure.

[@vindoe8792]

It’s clear that gumpai doesn’t really care for the legality, she was just using it as a shield, her real intention came out when she said “it would of been different if I got the plushies”

[@solvergod]

Oh man i sure hope no one makes a plushie of my original characters ! 😰

[@nolwazi3076]

I do not condone their racist actions, that's yucky. my comment is on their initial reaction on the fan merch thing: "people will now be really hesitant to engage in support of any memorabilia items" why don't they just ask if they can make memorabilia, so that this can be avoided in the future, or they can still make plushies but just don't sell them? I feel like this could have been avoided. I agree with your statement of protecting your IP legally. in the eyes of the people you could seem ungrateful, but i'd be upset too if someone took my character and made money off of it without my consent. Also it could take away the recognisability of the vtuber, people would have random plushies and not know the origin or something. to me it would feel like my identity was being stolen in some way lol. but yeah their reaction was done poorly. but i feel their initial reaction for being upset is valid. v( ‘.’ )v

[@blasandresayalagarcia3472]

I dont see how people can be simultaneously mad at people for stealing art but be ok when they steal commercial rights

[@Heattokun]

After hearing about this? Might save up some money and see if Kusa can make my Dragonball Xenoverse OC into a plush. I think they deserve some extra business

[@Oohkamitama]

That vtuber has the right to be upset and not want fanmade stuff profiting of of her BUT she should have dealt with this behind the scene and in a more professional way. She made the decision to become a public figure and has to have a higher expectation of herself when managing her public image.

[@soaphia1987]

I appreciate how you consider both sides

[@spiderleamer]

Tbh it made NO sense how Gumpi lost it so bad. A lot of vtubers I've seen LOVE fan merch, I don't think I've actually ever seen someone lose it that badly over FANMERCH. Like, ya maybe just ask for permission rq if the creator dosnt have the permissions public anywhere but it was leftover stock! The maker clearly didn't want it to go to waste and they've done so many vtuber plushies in the past and fully prised for it BY the vtubers they do. The fact they hand make those plushies themselves too and Gumpi calling it "trashy" is wild. TBH this feels just cruel from Gumpi, it fully feels like they were just mad over not getting money for it, not actually worried about copywrite. Also I have to say promotion in a discord is always strict BUT it was plushies for THERE community, it makes total sense. Ya its not legal BUT in the tubing community the rules around fanmerch is VERY different, hell even Hololive and such promote fanmerch as well.

[@funnyfish2059]

nah, I'd also be mad if someone made merch of my oc and sold it without asking...

[@bajaox3923]

I thought I was crazy for siding with her since the start. I know his intentions weren't wrong but at the end of the day the character is HERS, and she should be the one to decide whether it gets a plushy made or not. But she could've been nicer abou it ofc

[@trira_gaming6195]

I feel bad for the person who ordered the plushie here. What a nightmare for a fan.

[@Pink_G0atHoove]

I’m currently trying to build up my fursuit making business. If someone ever made fan of my mascot, I would be so HONOURED to know I’ve gotten that big that people want much of me and my business!

[@marlenehernandezramos4604]

I can do that :0

[@pillyhere]

I agree with the vtuber but their approach to the situation was so immature. They could have easily dm'ed the artist and worked it out in private. But yes, I wouldn't be okay with people profiting off my creative works/IP, especially as a small creator.

[@airicatagiri]

Now2, creating fan plushie is illegal assuming it is copyright, but artist always make profitt off fans comms from ESTABLISHED COPYRIGHT IP.

[@klow6685]

At first I understood her POV and how she would be upset but the way she reacted to the criticism shows her quality of character. She does not deserve a following whatsoever.

[@alx311]

Something that bothers me about this conversation is the whole trying to justify this person's action with "legality". It seems to me by her reaction that she's just some egocentric asshole. She didn't crash out with the thought of "aw man, this will be a problem if I try to sell my stuff in the future", she crashed out because she probably though the plushies were ugly and/or was annoyed that someone was selling plushies without her gaining anything from it. I understand the legality argument, I truly do, but seeing as they became racist pretty quick, and crashed out like A LOT with all those r-word tweets, I don't think any of their complains came from a "legal" standpoint. Like yeah, maybe any artist will be better making sure the vtuber is ok with fan art and merch before doing anything, but also this is no way to react, like, AT ALL. Specially knowing from the beginning that this was an individual artist and not something like aliexpress. They were mad they were not profitting of it, not that there could be legal problems down the line when she released her own stuff. Having a legal reason for being annoyed doesn't give you a reason to be a racist asshole. I can't even go for a "I understand where is she coming from" because the reaction is so SO rancid that I can't even see her side, like, at all. (Also I know that you are not preciselly agreeing with her, but I had to get my thought since that part is bothering me a bit about this whole conversation. As an artist myself I'm biased but yeah, no one deserves this treatment)

[@yuri_nori]

The way gampai made it look like they're mad they didn't get free samples from Costco 😐

[@MesmerizerMikuuuu]

Honestly, I would be mad if someone made a plush of my character and I didn't get paid in any way as well. Rightfully so. But I wouldn't go as far as to racism. I'd just call them out for making a profit of my character, that's about it.

[@TheSleepyKuma]

I mean I wouldn’t make plushies of someone’s vtuber model without permission just because the vtuber may need the artists permission to sell merch with the model: and to not even offer the vtuber and/or the model artist a cut is kind of rude. This is completely ignoring anything else about the vtuber because she seems like a jerk.

[@critterstewart]

Commissioned fanart or fan merch is SUUUUUUCH a weird topic as an artist. This whole situation would have likely been avoided if the artist in question had DMed the person to check if they're okay with them advertising the sale of the plushies. That's about it really. The vtuber an absolute douche about it, though. I wonder if the person who commissioned the plushies ended up regretting it.

[@CMYKITSUNE]

i would rather have someone ask before they commission a plushie of my character but the way gumpai broke down is fucked up if i made a comic/cartoon the fanmerch would be free for all though. my sonas/ocs are personal so yeah. idk how it works when it comes to vtubers though, i would prob treat it like the comic/cartoon situation

[@miss_flutterbea]

Everyone is different, if I was in her situation I would ask that they seek permission first, since i own commercial rights to my character. And honesty, if they offer me a unit for a reduced price that would be enough to win me over.

[@BaileyMagikz]

2:53 "i'm not trying to mock them but there questionable" the irony of katliente is funny

[@Maonaami]

Besides the racism and the immaturity I do agree with the vtuber, the artist had zero right to make money off of the design; I also disagree with the people saying « you should be happy someone wants to have a plushie of You❗️❗️ » like no, this doesn’t justify ANYTHING, this is the same thing men say to women when they get cat called

[@yunjinshairclip]

i actually would be mad if someone made plushies of my oc and selled it without me having a procent, IF IT WAS AN ACTUAL PRODUCT AND NOW A COMMISION, IF SOMEONE COMMISIONED A PERSON TO GET MERCH OF ME I WOULD JUMP IN JOY

[@BlueBrawler0]

Good for you, it's called consent.

[@LambRot]

jumpscared by you reading out a comment by my stalker on twitter LOL scared me so effing bad i had to double take (obvs not said with mean intent just silly that he popped up while i was casually watching smthn)

[@caidence1808]

it could’ve been so cute if instead of putting them on blast for this they could’ve like partnered together to make plushies so everyone wins ☹️☹️

[@anipii2120]

I think, fanmerch is a big part of the nerd ecosystem like, if you are an anime fan who goes to cons ect. there is a massive chance you have probably bought fan made merch, now is the creator able to say like "hey please dont sell merch or com work of my character" That would have been an okay and understandable response. I personally believe if somone comissions someone to make one plush of your character then like, that is cool and promotes not only the creator but you can promote a small artist, if its a big corporation it would have been understandable, but now the callout and everything out and trying to send harassment is ridiculous.

[@anipii2120]

ALSO THEY DIDNT EVEN MAKE MULTIPLE PLUSHIES OF THEM IT WAS JUST 1 LMAO- THEY HAD AN EXTRA BODY BASE NOT EXTRA GUMPAI PLUSHIES OMG

[@Tan_ksss]

Honestly, if someone used one of my charachters to make merch and profit off of it, I don't think I'd be very happy either. I know that some people would feel flattered, etc., but personally, I wouldn't have taken it well. have to understand that some people are very attached to their OC, designs etc and I think that's legit. however, Gumpai did not react in a good way. She should have handled it differently. Being rude and racist that's so ☠️☠️ i don't even have the words...

[@Muzans_daughter2008]

Tbh, I would be pissed too. If someone is gonna make a plushy of me, they have to ask me first, not, just randomly make it without asking me like I get it you want a plushy of someone but you have to ask the youtuber or vtuber if it's okay because the the youtuber or vtuber well be uncomfortable..like me I don't want stuff made like a plushy of me I don't want that so i understand gumpai..why they are pissed

[@caokyou9442]

But they already ask for it? is just Gumpai want get yeah u know..

[@foxfy7780]

ive never seen an artist ally now allow fan art, its literally all fanart

[@hatsunemei3106]

the "how dare you not give consent?!" argument is awful 💀

[@auluora]

She overreacted so much ngl

[@BlueBrawler0]

Cycle of wrath. She initially only overreacted by a little. It could've been seen as a genuine warning to others about an IP stealer, or as an example to discourage future people from advertising illegal merch in the DISCORD OF THE IP OWNER. Then people started invalidating Gumpai's feelings because of Kusa's past works, pushing Gumpai to make more tweets. Most were already criticizing her for being upset at all, calling Gumpai crazy just because they themself like it.

[@fryerer]

@@BlueBrawler0 international ip laws are a mess, a better warning can and could have been one where she privately DM's him and asks him to stop, which she didnt, and proceeds to be racist against his country, yeah, good move.

[@giaynhieumau]

The plushie maker intended to use the money from selling those prototypes to support Gumpai on Throne

[@Catefishin]

I feel like this whole situation was a nothing burger because end of the day she decided to openly attack instead of privately dming them. She has the right to not be ok with them selling plushies but end of the day there was no need to go on twitter to bash them.

[@SugaMot]

If someone made a plushie of my vtuber, my only issue would be that they better have made one for me

[@claudeyaz]

There needs to be exceptions written into those laws then, if people can't sell a couple fan plushies then the laws are wrong... Especially since are they really intellectual properties, cause honestly v tuber is kind of around that blurred line of intellectual property and personality.. Like if you want a fan doll made of your favorite k pop idol, v tuber should be no different

[@naqibahyussof5892]

Fan merch is a very gray area. Most artist that they do fan merch in Malaysia always lay low. I even ask some of the MYIPO worker if fan merch is legal, they told me it illegal but legal actions are depend on the owner of the said work. Idk about comission wise, but creator generally will act hostile or even sue if someone make fan merch that generate more income from them. Most artist seek advice and premission from the original creator before selling the fan merch. This is just my oppinion, but the creator in this case should act profesional. The worst thing they could said is a no.

[@mushroom00.]

“you only care about scamming people out of money, give me your poorly made plushies that are incorrect and ugly so that I CAN sell them instead” i mean.

[@iamaunicorn1232]

I generally agree and absolutely understand her being mad at first seeing someone advertise plushies of her model in her discord with no agreement beforehand. I do not agree with her not bothering to talk to Kusa and ask "why are you selling these?" and "Why did you make them?" Once an explanation is given or not given then a ban and callout can be issued if needed. But never run to Twitter half-cocked and big mad. Asking for trouble. I also think Kusa is in the wrong for not asking for permission to advertise in someone else's server. They were going to run into this kind of issue or worse eventually by not doing that, especially with copyright laws entering the mix. As an artist, protect yourself first.

[@sheebiedeebie]

Aww congratulations on your 5 years Kat!!

[@Shepardsenpai]

I just wanna hop in and say it’s not necessary illegal to make fan merch if the owner of the property has rules for it! Many companies just have an max amount of money you can make off of a single product before you have to retire it. Not all, but many. if the property is of an independent creator, it’s super important to ask them directly though if they don’t have it listed.

[@Diablothefurry]

I understand if it is like 2m plushies but it was only technically 5. like lets be for real. It is like calling the cops on a person for stealing a pen.

[@lobsterwithoutalife]

bruh what was even the point of alexia's take, you dont have to wait to have fan merch to speak on it, you dont *have* to wait until it comes out to complain about it. like seriously is she Schrödinger's time bomb? like she *may or may not* hate it when someone makes merch of her. cool man thanks for making things clear 🤨

[@layla-m1q8p]

i just feel like any NORMAL person would be absolutely thrilled at the thought of someone BUYING plushies of their character. like it would feel amazing if anyone would buy a plushie of your character, bc its litterly like someone spending money to have something that will remind them of you at all times.