It appears Playmobil is on a crusade towards people selling customized items, reading this article and recent other cases:
Article:
Playmobil-obsessed defendant turns up with court model
by di-ve.com - editorial@di-ve.com
Court -- 13 September 2011 -- 16:45CEST
A woman accused of violating intellectual property laws by customising and reselling Playmobil toys described herself as a Playmobil fanatic in court, turning up with a model of the courtroom to back her case.
35-year-old Vicky Vassallo is accused of commercial fraud and copyright infringement over the sale of customised Playmobil sets through eBay. She denies the charges, insisting that she was simply selling second-hand goods.
She was first arraigned in 2009 after the toys’ manufacturers, Brandstätter, complained about her sales.
Ms Vassallo described herself as a fanatic who has been collecting the plastic toys since childhood, and who even attended toy fairs in Europe where she would exchange toys and compete in the creation of the best diorama.
At this point she presented, as evidence, a model of the courtroom, with Magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona and other court officers chuckling as this took place. She explained that the model was assembled through different sets – the chairs formed part of a dining room in a dolls’ house.
Ms Vassallo noted that the practice of customising was encouraged by Playmobil, which had even issued books. She said that she followed all the company’s guidelines when she customised sets, such as the avoidance of scenes of violence. In a previous court case, 2 people had produced macabre custom sets which were sold in a Buġibba shop.
Supt Carmel Magri asked Ms Vassallo whether she was authorised to produce such sets and sell them on, and she replied that no authorisation was necessary to customise sets. She added that she was simply selling second-hand goods.
Taking up her point, defence counsel Joe Giglio asked Supt Magri about the cars he owned. The police officer replied that he has owned a Peugeot for 9 years, and had previously owned a Skoda.
Dr Giglio then asked whether Supt Magri had received any authorisation to sell on the car. The superintendent answered that he had not, but added that no official complaint was filed.
The case continues.
