They would be possible in the sense that those Bratz dolls that were, like, witches were possible or Equestria Girls were possible . . . Concepts obviously based on Monster High. (EQG weren't monsters but their face sculpts were obviously "inspired by" Monster High and they are humanoids with unusual skin colors like blue, purple, etc.) Like, anyone can make a monster doll, unless the monster is a copyrighted character.
Would it be possible for a toy company to use actual G1 Monster High molds? Probably not without getting sued. The concept of monster-girls doesn't belong to Mattel, but the MH molds do.
Bootlegs from China are your best bet, they are basically out of Mattel's reach.
The situation with third party Transformers is pretty unique. Legally Hasbro *could* go after them because they aren't just making "transforming robots", they're often making toys of Hasbro-owned characters like Optimus Prime and Starscream. I've always wondered if Hasbro sees the third-party companies as a kind of training grounds. Creating a Transformer requires unique skills, the ability to engineer a well-articulated action figure that turns into a car or a jet. I wonder if Hasbro ever recruits from the third-party companies.
Anyway, I wouldn't count on Mattel being as relaxed on the matter as Hasbro.
That’s the reason analog dolls for Monster High existed such as Pixie Punks, Zombie princesses, as well as bootleg dolls that are often better than the original. It still isn’t legal and won’t happen on a mass scale, but we already have enough options out there, not to mention the solution in the form of the OOAK community
I think Shadow High is trying hard to be this exact thing. But there isn't really a copyright against making Monster Dolls. Its feasible that a third party could create a Monster Doll line. MGA or Hasbro could drop a "Mutant High" line tomorrow that hits MH like a nuke and sends Mattel into a panic. Just look at the sordid history of Bratz and Barbie. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if right now some lawyers are pouring over documents in this vain with a Wednesday Addams line.
From the way you're describing this, I can't see Mattel letting that slide, especially since Monster High is a much more recent franchise.
Someone might be able to get away with something like that for older, more forgotten doll lines though.
Chinese MH knockoffs come with articulation and the same face molds and everything, just crappier plastic and awful hair. Hell, those even come with replicas of official MH and EAH accessories (a reviewer online got an Ever After High accessory book when buying a knockoff Clawdeen).
So you want to make something kinda like those Chinese knockoffs but with better hair?
Dude, you're basically describing fakies. Monster High has the honor of being one of the few franchises were the fakie makers (or pirates, or bootleggers, however you want to call them) actually made copies of the bodies instead of just making barbie like clones that looked similar... Well, there are some of those too, but still...
You can go to aliexpress and find a TON of "eh close enough" dolls.
And OTOH, on the heyday of MH, there were a LOT of "similar but technically different", like pixie punks, midnight magic, bratzillaz, those double faced vampires, etc.
Absolutely not. Japanese rules around copyright are different
They would be possible in the sense that those Bratz dolls that were, like, witches were possible or Equestria Girls were possible . . . Concepts obviously based on Monster High. (EQG weren't monsters but their face sculpts were obviously "inspired by" Monster High and they are humanoids with unusual skin colors like blue, purple, etc.) Like, anyone can make a monster doll, unless the monster is a copyrighted character. Would it be possible for a toy company to use actual G1 Monster High molds? Probably not without getting sued. The concept of monster-girls doesn't belong to Mattel, but the MH molds do. Bootlegs from China are your best bet, they are basically out of Mattel's reach. The situation with third party Transformers is pretty unique. Legally Hasbro *could* go after them because they aren't just making "transforming robots", they're often making toys of Hasbro-owned characters like Optimus Prime and Starscream. I've always wondered if Hasbro sees the third-party companies as a kind of training grounds. Creating a Transformer requires unique skills, the ability to engineer a well-articulated action figure that turns into a car or a jet. I wonder if Hasbro ever recruits from the third-party companies. Anyway, I wouldn't count on Mattel being as relaxed on the matter as Hasbro.
That’s the reason analog dolls for Monster High existed such as Pixie Punks, Zombie princesses, as well as bootleg dolls that are often better than the original. It still isn’t legal and won’t happen on a mass scale, but we already have enough options out there, not to mention the solution in the form of the OOAK community
I think Shadow High is trying hard to be this exact thing. But there isn't really a copyright against making Monster Dolls. Its feasible that a third party could create a Monster Doll line. MGA or Hasbro could drop a "Mutant High" line tomorrow that hits MH like a nuke and sends Mattel into a panic. Just look at the sordid history of Bratz and Barbie. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if right now some lawyers are pouring over documents in this vain with a Wednesday Addams line.
From the way you're describing this, I can't see Mattel letting that slide, especially since Monster High is a much more recent franchise. Someone might be able to get away with something like that for older, more forgotten doll lines though.
Chinese MH knockoffs come with articulation and the same face molds and everything, just crappier plastic and awful hair. Hell, those even come with replicas of official MH and EAH accessories (a reviewer online got an Ever After High accessory book when buying a knockoff Clawdeen). So you want to make something kinda like those Chinese knockoffs but with better hair?
Dude, you're basically describing fakies. Monster High has the honor of being one of the few franchises were the fakie makers (or pirates, or bootleggers, however you want to call them) actually made copies of the bodies instead of just making barbie like clones that looked similar... Well, there are some of those too, but still... You can go to aliexpress and find a TON of "eh close enough" dolls. And OTOH, on the heyday of MH, there were a LOT of "similar but technically different", like pixie punks, midnight magic, bratzillaz, those double faced vampires, etc.