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Star Wars Collectors Unite!

I have been collecting Star Wars autographs since 1998. Not all of my signatures are on Star Wars memorabilia. For example, when I met Warwick Davis at a comic convention in New York City, I had him sign a Willow photograph. I also have publicity photos of Sir Alec Guinness and Christopher Lee from the 1970s, and a Natalie Portman signed The Diary of Anne Frank theater poster from her performance on Broadway back in 1998. My current wish list includes Peter Cushing, Terence Stamp and John Williams. I am interested in knowing about the collections and wish lists of other members.

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Permalink Reply by Pete Bendu on January 13, 2016 at 7:25pm

Disney owns it all, lock, stock and barrel. They have not signed any licensing agreement that I know of, so it is original posters or licensed reprints and merchandise that is available in the market. Anyone doing an official signing with any of the actors from The Force Awakens will likely either not have photos, or have to get permission from Disney to use a particular likeness or still and print images ok'd by Disney.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 13, 2016 at 7:34pm

Thanks, Pete. If there are no legal The Force Awakens photos, that's a concern.

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Permalink Reply by Pete Bendu on January 13, 2016 at 7:41pm

It's never been a concern for the collector. Official shows like Celebration will have no choice but to provide images to someone to print the photos for celebs to sign, and the concept of Lucasfilm or Disney investing enough to go after the individual collector selling a single signed image online is never gonna happen.

It's the advertised "official" signings from the likes of Celebrity Authentics who now supposedly has Adam Driver as a client, or Official Pix who has scheduled signings with both Harrison Ford and Ian McDiarmid lined up this year, even Coolwaters which represents a number of the Star Wars celebrities. These companies may indeed have some issues offering any kind of quantity of photos into the market, especially if they attempt to do so without the prior ok from Disney Legal.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 13, 2016 at 8:37pm

I can't imagine those holding licensed signings not using legal prints.

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Permalink Reply by Pete Bendu on January 14, 2016 at 4:19am

These companies holding signings will have no other choice but to do this the right way, or they will be blown out of the water immediately after their first round of signings.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 13, 2016 at 9:12pm

It's not just lawsuits to worry about. Willful copyright infringement for profit is a crime. Up to 10 years in prison plus fines. It's highly unlikely they'll go after collectors and small timers, tho.

Civil damages and penalties can run into the hundreds of thousands plus actual damages, and the infringer is responsible for the plaintiff's legal costs.

That's the way to get rid of major forged signed photo sellers if they had the photos printed. The cases would be a slam-dunk unless they bought the licenses. That's the angle the FBI should use. A pile of big forgery sources would be in a mess of trouble.

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Permalink Reply by Mike T on January 13, 2016 at 7:51pm

I emailed the guy in charge of licensing at lucasfilm.. I talked to my disney friends who told me they are still 100% in charge of licensing for Star Wars, so we'll see. Curious now what happened to OPX, unless they increased prices because of the new movie. Seems to me if it were a matter of money, someone else with money would have jumped in and bought it by now.. selling licensed photos is a gold mine.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 13, 2016 at 7:52pm

It was the price and the terms. They weren't offering a worldwide exclusive.

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Permalink Reply by Mike T on January 13, 2016 at 8:02pm

Price I can see as OPX probably isn't raking in the dough, but exclusivity shouldn't be an issue. Most Star Wars licenses out there aren't exclusive, I know at least 3 companies currently have a license to make Star Wars models, and I'm sure many own the license for Toys and figurines, clothing, etc.

Curious now how much it will be, maybe I'll buy it and we can start Chuka Pix.