Cracking Down on Elmo and Mickey

[hrmjustin]

YONI BASHAN
July 8, 2014 10:33 p.m. ET

For some tourists visiting Times Square, having a photo taken with Elmo, Mickey Mouse or one of the other characters roaming the famous crossroads has become irresistible.

But for some of the characters' corporate creators, the unauthorized Cookie Monster or other characters panhandling for a tip in exchange for a photo is a threat to their brands.

"It is a little distressing," said Dave Marchi, senior director of brand management and marketing at Sanrio, the company that owns Hello Kitty, a popular character in Times Square. "It's very frustrating to us that there are people who are masquerading in costume that could be misinterpreted as Hello Kitty."

Some local politicians think they have an answer to the concerns. A bill drafted by City Councilman Andy King would introduce a licensing system to regulate the work of the Times Square characters and call for background checks on the people in costume.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/cracking-down-on-elmo-and-mickey-in-times-square-1404873225

[longship]

1. Masquerading as Mickey Mouse or Hello Kitty?

Like they weren't imaginary characters?

[hrmjustin]

2. lol I know.

[longship]

3. But everybody knows that Elmo is real.

Neglected to add that.

[hrmjustin]

4. Lol.

[TlalocW]

5. I see (and somewhat participate in) copyright infringement quite a bit

Though technically what I get paid for is the entertainment value of twisting balloons into Spider-Man, Hello Kitty, Disney Princesses, etc. since I don't actually sell the sculptures themselves.

And because of what I do, I've become friends with people who own magic/costume shops, and while they do stock official costumes licensed by Lucas for Star Wars, princesses from Disney, etc. there are also costumes from China called, "Japanese Kitty" and "Manion" (Minion from, "Despicable Me&quot . It's interesting to me just what can be gotten away with at times.

TlalocW