a friend of mine is currently at GP Manchester, and i gave him a few cards to sell or trade for me while there (cards that are hard to trade locally)

he calls me up tonight, saying he tried to sell a mox pearl of mine, to a vendor. The vendor then claimed the mox to be fake.

The vendor fetches som wizard employee, who confiscated the mox, gave my friend his business card and info.

My friend tells me that they are going to examine it in belgium or something (im guessing at carta mundi).

Im not sure wether my friend is seriously pranking me, or wtf?

Did this happen to anyone else you heard of?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Volcanon:
It's still your property if it's counterfeit.

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Property, yes. But if it's established as counterfeit, you don't simply get to keep it. Either the authorities hold the item as evidence if WotC decides to file charges, or WotC can get an order of the court for confiscating the counterfeit in an effort to protect their trade.

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Originally posted by Zeckk:
Property, yes. But if it's established as counterfeit, you don't simply get to keep it. Either the authorities hold the item as evidence if WotC decides to file charges, or WotC can get an order of the court for confiscating the counterfeit in an effort to protect their trade.

I'm speaking as a guy who sees first-hand - people who get scammed in the casinos with fake chips don't get to keep them, though they obviously lost money from the scammer selling them chips.

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There's a difference between how things may be and how things legally are. Wizards has no right to confiscate "fake" cards. The "authorities" have no role in this matter. Violation of copyright is a civil matter, not criminal, so the police would have nothing to do with anything here.

quote:

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Originally posted by Volcanon:
There's a difference between how things may be and how things legally are. Wizards has no right to confiscate "fake" cards. The "authorities" have no role in this matter. Violation of copyright is a civil matter, not criminal, so the police would have nothing to do with anything here.

Anyway, it sounds like the poster is more or less getting punked by his friend more than anything.

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If you think copyright infringement is a civil matter, I don't even know what to say to you...

As has been said before, it's likely he's just being pranked or scammed. The difference in my casino example is that most people who get their chips confiscated are interviewed by the police so they can get info on the counterfeiters and the scammer ring. Guests that get those chips taken away are always free to file a complaint, but they aren't entitled to re-gain the counterfeit materials, since their existence is illegal. In the case of counterfeit cards, their existence is a copyright violation and it's actually the duty of whatever authority having jurisdiction to confiscate, retain, and eventually destroy such materials.

quote:

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Originally posted by fluffycow:
You card is 100% gone after this weekend

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If not already.

How 'official' did this wizards guy seem? Cause didn't your friend have to sign anything, get questioned by anyone?

They are just going to take it to Belgium for testing and "Oh here call this number about your Pearl in a few weeks - we'll know it's yours".
No registering or anything like that in case the Pearl is legit and going to be returned to owner?

quote:

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Originally posted by Zeckk:
If you think copyright infringement is a civil matter, I don't even know what to say to you...

People don't get bootlegged DVDs or counterfeit handbags back when they are caught in possesion of them, regardless of intent to use or sell. Illegal **** is illegal ****.

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Pro Tip: Civil means matters between legal individuals.

Um. No. The police, or "authorities" only get involved in criminal matters. Contraband is forfeit. Merely fake goods are not. If you possess fake goods, the owner of the IP cannot simply take them from you. This isn't some third-world backwater. People have rights. Mere existence of counterfeits is not grounds for the IP owner to destroy the property. That would be theft and wilful destruction of another's property and an actionable civil offence.

Jurisdiction is a legal construct involving mostly police and judicial powers. Just owning a intellectual property does not grant you any inherent jurisdiction. It grants you rights as against others attempting to wilfully profit from counterfeit goods.

The counterfeit goods seizures occur in the context of stores, not in the context of a dude at a magic event.

Thanks,
Jazaray

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quote:

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Originally posted by Volcanon:
Pro Tip: Civil means matters between legal individuals.

Um. No. The police, or "authorities" only get involved in criminal matters. Contraband is forfeit. Merely fake goods are not. If you possess fake goods, the owner of the IP cannot simply take them from you. This isn't some third-world backwater. People have rights. Mere existence of counterfeits is not grounds for the IP owner to destroy the property. That would be theft and wilful destruction of another's property and an actionable civil offence.

Jurisdiction is a legal construct involving mostly police and judicial powers. Just owning a intellectual property does not grant you any inherent jurisdiction. It grants you rights as against others attempting to wilfully profit from counterfeit goods.

The counterfeit goods seizures occur in the context of stores, not in the context of a dude at a magic event.

This gets a bit iffy because there was an attempt to sell, but that depends on the facts.

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Citizens and business entities both have the ability to seize counterfeit property as a means to prevent a criminal action, in this case the potential sale of counterfeit goods. Yes, they seize the property until the proper authorities can take possession, but the prinicple is the same, whether its a casino cashier taking chips from a guest or a magic vendor taking a suspected fake from a Guy trying to get a price check.

As a more extreme example - if a person saw a dude selling bootleg DVDs on a street corner, that person could make a citizens arrest and/or confiscate illegal property until authorities are notified and assume responsibility.

quote:

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Originally posted by MasterWolf:
Your friend owes you a Pearl.

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