Where in Equestria Have I Been?

Hi everyone,

So, you all probably have been wondering where I've been. Yeah, I got some explaining to do.

First, I want to sincerely apologize for not being active as much or continuing stories.

The first thing I need to get off my chest is that the reason it has taken so long to do anything on here is because I have been doing research to figure out potential Copyright infringements that have been happening in a preschool show called "PAW Patrol".

To sum it up, I was lying in bed thinking about certain episodes, when I noticed a pattern; some episodes had A LOT of similarities with fan made content. My own fan made content included, as well as two fan made Original Characters or OCs.

So, I started doing research for a variety of things:

What similarities did the episodes have with fan made content?
What is considered copyright?
What is copyright infingement and how is it decided in a court?
Do similarities determine copyright infringement or what requirements would there be for similarities to count as infringement?
What episides have been sold on DVD, languages, countries, ect. as well as toys?
Did any creators get contacted, credited or given money?
What episodes are sold in online comany packages of shows? Anazon, iTunes, ect.?
How much money does a company need to pay for infringements?
Do I need to take Olympic/sports episodes into consideration?

The list goes on .... Keep in mind, I wasn't just doing this for myself, but aldo for 3 other users who were getting their content stolen as well as doing other companies/businesses too. Movies, Fairy Tales, The Olympics, ect. Yeah, this is why it has taken me 4+ years to do this research. I am the only one doing this research and nobody else.

My conclusion; not only were my concerns confirmed, but it was worse than I could have imagined. No fan ever got contacted, credited, talked to, or was given financing for episodes that used fan made content.

But what's the deal you ask? Well, let me put this into simple terms; if a fan creates an OC or Original Character/Original Content that can be used outside of the franchise it was made for, and used in it's own unique way, that counts as ORIGINAL COPYRIGHT MATERIAL!
This is especially important to note when the creator gives evidence or informs people that their content is original.

Okay, but everyone makes mistakes. Surely this could be a mistake, right?
Wrong! The info for episodes and characters copied has mainly been posted to the PAW Patrol Fanon Wiki. This is a wiki that is not only open to the public, but is used for fans to express their love for the PAW Patrol show. On top of that, you don't even need to make an account to comment on someone's stories. And the "copied" episodes aired months to years after the original content was already posted to the wiki.

And as far as the "copying" goes, I was finding 70 - 100% copying in episodes from the fan made and company content. From many different prospectives;

Metaphorically
Structurally
Format
Figuratively
Ect.

That means there is no excuse for the companies of Viacom/Nickelodeon and Spinmaster to have not checked in with the fans. Even with Spinmaster's "fan checking" system to make sure they aren't using fan content, that is still problematic since the characters, outfits and tools used by fan made characters Tundra and Snowflake are very similar to the show's characters Everest and Tracker.

THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN EASY for Spinmaster's "fan checking" system to detect. And yes, I have spoken to Spinmaster over the phone about this issue, with mixed results. Mostly good, but I am still suspicious.

Even their advertising about the show being educational was false;

Teaches
Social Skills
Teamwork
Problem solving
Being a helpful part of the community

The community one had no problems but all the other ones did. Even if they were taching lessons, they were being done in a way that could easily teach a child the wrong way to behave or mislead them. Lessons, jokes, character quotes or decisions, logical situations being not logical at all, incorrect animal facts, ect. Yeah, not educational at all.

I am still trying to get in touch with Viacom, despite them giving me the cold shoulder with 1 email and 18 phone calls, and I'm still going. All I am trying to do is try to understand the companies sides of this situation to rule out any misleading info or unknown info I don't know or have access to.

I can't even begin to describe the amount of stress, anger, sadness, disappointment, and mental stress I have gone through.

Keep in mind that every infringemment adds up to more money owed to those who have gotten content stolen from. That was the big stresser.

Just to give an example, my research found that if found guilty in a court, based on the number of infringements from the show alone, from seasons 1 - 5. That means Viacom would owe me ....

11+ Trillion dollars, not including the 250,000 per infringement.

And that's not including the other infringements from other people. Well guess what? Viacom's net worth isn't even 1 Trillion. There is NO WAY they could pay the fans back, or other companies. Same with Spinmaster.

And life in jail would do nothing because someone else could still do the same crime without getting caught. Plus my family doesn't have the money to go to court.

So, what am I suppose to do?! These companies have done the definition of Copyright infringement, but there is no way to punish them, even if my research is all correct.

So yeah, see why I have been absent for so long?

Also, I have moved from the Reptile section of my local zoo to the Food Prep area, plus doing edicational animal areas too. Feeding, giving water, cleaning up, educating the public, ect.

Same thing volunteering at the Raptor Center; feed, give water, try to rehab wild birds (owls, falcons, hawks, ect) handle birds to give them medicine, ect.

And I got a job at Costco. Yup. No samples, just cleaning surfaces due to the virus. Then got laid off until the company has a plan to move forward.

THAT is what I have been doing for the past 4 years.

I promise stories will continue. But I hope you guys can forgive me for my absence.

Have a good day. Stay safe