Hello,
I hasten to say that I consider Latorre's "Roman Cavalry General" exactly the same case as "Western Samurai" as to the copyright question. And so is the case with El Viejo Dragón "British Navy Officer", which is obviously Crowe in his "Master and Commander" role. I drew this subject because we were talking about the last Andrea release, but in my comment I already mention Andrea is not the sole offender.
As to the question about if Andrea (or other manufacturers) pay those rights or not, I think this has an easy answer: should them respect the legal question, certainly they would sell these products under their real names, and not nebulous denominations; and they would use any related logos, etc. Well, they do not, isn't it?
BTW, I proposed the same question in a Spanish forum where some of the affected manufacturers or sculptors contribute, and no explanation was never offered. To the contrary, the sculptor of one of these pieces "argumented" his work could not be prosecuted (or so he thought) because he did not make the reproduction exactly as the original character, he applied some small changes.
This is not a question of the major film producers, or whoever holds copyright, earning much money or not, or arguing that paying for the copyright would result in a more expensive figure. It is NOT LEGAL - full stop. By this same theory, a lot of delicts could be "justified". And the firms involved in such activity do this in order to get a bonus in their sales, for their benefit.
I'm sure mr. Carlos Andrea is not exactly thrilled when, as has been the case on a number of ocassions, parts of his figures are pirated and unlawfully used by unscrupulous manufacturers. Or when he knows that his figures are cheaply copied, whole, in resin, and sold, by some individuals or shops. But I'm sure these infractors would no doubt offer some "justification", too, like high costs of paying sculptors or import taxes "forcing" them to so act. But all of this is illegal, too.
:lol:
