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Okay, you probably already know about Marvel suing the City of Heroes people over trademark issues. I am not here to discuss the relative merit or stupidity of that action.
Rather, I'm saying that a boycott of Marvel is likely to have the opposite effect of what you might wish.
Think about it. Marvel is doing this because their trademarks are now more important than their comics. Let's say you boycott Marvel over this issue.
Marvel's TV and movie licenses probably won't even notice. Movies like Spider-Man are successful because of non-fans coming to see them. Sure, there's a lot of CoH players, but even if you got all of them to sign on, it's just a drop in the bucket for this segment of Marvel's income.
Marvel's toy licenses won't notice either. If you have control of your own finances, you're probably not in the main target audience. And if your five year old son wants a Spider-Man toy, I doubt that arguments about corporate responsibility are going to stop the screaming.
Marvel's game licenses might take a hit, might not. I don't really know if they're doing much beyond movie tie-ins, and I suspect tie-ins are immune for the same reason the movies are.
Marvel's comics...those you can hurt. A bunch of enraged fans can probably manage to put a noticeable dent in comic sales. This is probably the only place a boycott will even be noticed.
Of course, the comics have been loss-leaders for some time now, making so little money for the parent companies that the shift in emphasis has been to the licensing. Which has increased the drive to protect trademarks. Which led to the CoH lawsuit.
Yep...boycott Marvel and there's good chance they'll just be driven farther into the sort of behavior you dislike. In the meantime, the people who like the comics (and who create the comics) get hurt by cancellations and low sales.
Rather, I'm saying that a boycott of Marvel is likely to have the opposite effect of what you might wish.
Think about it. Marvel is doing this because their trademarks are now more important than their comics. Let's say you boycott Marvel over this issue.
Marvel's TV and movie licenses probably won't even notice. Movies like Spider-Man are successful because of non-fans coming to see them. Sure, there's a lot of CoH players, but even if you got all of them to sign on, it's just a drop in the bucket for this segment of Marvel's income.
Marvel's toy licenses won't notice either. If you have control of your own finances, you're probably not in the main target audience. And if your five year old son wants a Spider-Man toy, I doubt that arguments about corporate responsibility are going to stop the screaming.
Marvel's game licenses might take a hit, might not. I don't really know if they're doing much beyond movie tie-ins, and I suspect tie-ins are immune for the same reason the movies are.
Marvel's comics...those you can hurt. A bunch of enraged fans can probably manage to put a noticeable dent in comic sales. This is probably the only place a boycott will even be noticed.
Of course, the comics have been loss-leaders for some time now, making so little money for the parent companies that the shift in emphasis has been to the licensing. Which has increased the drive to protect trademarks. Which led to the CoH lawsuit.
Yep...boycott Marvel and there's good chance they'll just be driven farther into the sort of behavior you dislike. In the meantime, the people who like the comics (and who create the comics) get hurt by cancellations and low sales.
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Quite frankly, I don't have enough faith in the lawsuit to feel any action on my part is necessary. Certainly not sufficient that I should miss X3 for it, which would probably be the next time Marvel sees my money anyway.