Fox shuts down anyone selling a Jayne hat (and Firefly fans are furious)

[Spooky]

For nigh on a decade, Firefly fans have worn their homespun Jayne hats with pride. It seems, though, that those days are numbered.

If you've ever been to a convention, then you know that the easiest way to spot a fellow Browncoat is to keep an eye out for Jayne Cobb's very cunning hat. For the last ten years, fans of the show have been making (and often selling) their own versions of the hat through sites like Etsy and at conventions, too. On the show, the hat was made by Jayne's mom and, likewise, there has always been a touch of motherly love to each and every Jayne hat made by fans. No two are quite alike. That's the charm.

Recently, though, Ripple Junction, a company which produces licensed apparel, obtained the rights to mass produce the Jayne Hat. It instantly became a hit seller on popular nerd sites like ThinkGeek. It seemed that getting a Jayne hat was easier than ever. But that ease came with a price.

Firefly fans are coming out of the woodwork and they are hopping mad. Why? Turns out in the last few weeks many of them have received cease and desist letters or have simply been banned from Etsy for producing DIY Jayne Hats. This communal endeavor, it seems, is coming to a close and fans of the show are asking themselves why. Isn't the whole point of the Jayne hat that it be home-made? Doesn't it mean anything that the hats are often auctioned off at charity events? After 10 years of nothing, isn't it unfair for Fox to suddenly force life-long fans to cease production of something they love?

And the answer, for now, is that Fox owns the license and that's that. The fans who are mad that the hat was licensed for mass production are the ones who are closest to hitting the nail on the head. The fact is, Fox now has a legal obligation to their shareholders -- they have to chase down anyone producing and selling a licensed product without permission. Ripple Junction holds the license, the fans do not.

We reached out to both Ripple Junction and ThinkGeek to see what, if any, involvement they had in the sending of C&D's. Both companies denied involvement.

So does this really mean no more hand-made Jayne hats? Well, no. People can still make them, they just can't sell them right now. As to whether or not you can copyright a simply-patterned hat, that argument is ongoing.

http://www.blastr.com/2013-4-9/fox-shuts-down-anyone-making-jayne-hat-and-firefly-fans-are-furious

[AdmiralDigby]

 

[TinkTanker]

Hey, they own the copyrights and Fox is well within its rights to vigorously pursue those who violate those rights.

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[Spooky]

I actually wonder if the "look" of the hat has been trademarked or if it falls under the Firefly trademark. I would think that if you wanted to make and sell a hat that looked like the Jayne hat, that you could just not use anything related to Firefly in the marketing of said hat and you would be fine. But I am an not as lawyer nor do I play one on TV.

[TinkTanker]

My big complaint about the one from Think Geek is that it looks too professional. Part of the charm of the Jayne hat is that is looks like a piece of gao se.

[Spooky]

It's definitely is missing that cunning charm. Maybe they could add a few pieces of straw stuck in the yarn.

[TinkTanker]

As a bit of follow-up, Nathan tweeted that he thought the folks at Fox were overstepping their bounds, that it was a hat, and how could you trademark a hat. The folks at Think Geek caught wind of what was going on and...

[Saxon]

I love that Nathan, Adam and Shawn Trpcic stood up for the Esty Browncoats. Also love how the sellers Aim to Misbehave and have found ways to skirt the Alliance!

[TinkTanker]

I realize Fox is a business and they own the rights and all that, but Fox never cared about the show or anything associated with it until it started making some folks a little money. I have a coffee mug that is literally irreplaceable, because the shop was shut down and the artist has since passed on.

[TinkTanker]

http://www.etsy.com/transaction/126485084?