In another tab-clearing exercise - Here come Teenage Mutant Copyright Violations
As I mentioned several times before, Russians don't respect copyrights (especially foreign copyrights) nearly as much as people from Western countries. It has actually gotten better over the past few decades as Western publishers made some inroads and started cracking down on violations. But in the 1990s, Russian publishers could get away with just about anything.
Case and point - the Ninja Turtles childrens' books published by Minsk publishing company back in the early-mid 1990s. Not only did they use Ninja Turtles without bothering to get the proper license, but they also freely "borrowed" characters and plots from various high-profile Hollywood films. And they didn't even bother hiding it. Half of the time, the copyright violations were right there on the cover.
A Russian Ninja Turtles fan site put together scans from all the Minsk's Ninja Turtle books. Here is the full index. And, since most of you can't read Russian, allow me to point out some of the most blatant copyright violations:
Ninja Turtles' Journey Through Space - Alien and Aliens rip-off.
Ninja Turtles and Parkulab van Gart - rip-off of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Ninja Turtles and the Space Hunter - rip-off of... yep, you guessed it - Predator
Ninja Turtles versus the Demolition Man - it's actually "Ninja Turtles vs the Bad Guy from Demolition Man," but that doesn't make it any less of a rip-off.
Ninja Turtles and Batman
Ninja Turtles versus The Escapees from the Parallel Worlds - believe it or not, this is actually a Ghostbusters rip-off.
Ninja Turtles and the Big Chocolate Boom - rip-off of Superman III, out of all things.
Ninja Turtles versus the Evil Spirit of the Dead - rip-off of Army of Darkness
Those books were sold at Russian newstands and book stores. People bought them. And, as far as I know, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were none the wiser.
Case and point - the Ninja Turtles childrens' books published by Minsk publishing company back in the early-mid 1990s. Not only did they use Ninja Turtles without bothering to get the proper license, but they also freely "borrowed" characters and plots from various high-profile Hollywood films. And they didn't even bother hiding it. Half of the time, the copyright violations were right there on the cover.
A Russian Ninja Turtles fan site put together scans from all the Minsk's Ninja Turtle books. Here is the full index. And, since most of you can't read Russian, allow me to point out some of the most blatant copyright violations:
Ninja Turtles' Journey Through Space - Alien and Aliens rip-off.
Ninja Turtles and Parkulab van Gart - rip-off of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Ninja Turtles and the Space Hunter - rip-off of... yep, you guessed it - Predator
Ninja Turtles versus the Demolition Man - it's actually "Ninja Turtles vs the Bad Guy from Demolition Man," but that doesn't make it any less of a rip-off.
Ninja Turtles and Batman
Ninja Turtles versus The Escapees from the Parallel Worlds - believe it or not, this is actually a Ghostbusters rip-off.
Ninja Turtles and the Big Chocolate Boom - rip-off of Superman III, out of all things.
Ninja Turtles versus the Evil Spirit of the Dead - rip-off of Army of Darkness
Those books were sold at Russian newstands and book stores. People bought them. And, as far as I know, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were none the wiser.