Gorilla Deck Project Cancelled

[badpete69]

Wasn't sure if we started a new thread or moved the existing one. Feel free to combine if needed

[Cbkimble]

There is somewhere but im still out. This just isnt my cup of tea.

[Godzillian]

Excellent theme, excellent artwork, decent pricing... I'm in for an EB. I'll add 1 more by the time the campaign's over. Wonder if he'll release a red version of this deck in the future...

[ecNate]

Awesome, love it! I'm a single deck collector, but in for 2 of this one so I can use the one for actual regular playing.

I really wish more artists would do something with the number cards beyond slightly styled pips. Having different backgrounds for each suit makes it even better.

[Eoghann]

Heh that was quick! I'm in.

[vasta41]

Well executed but not my cup of bananas. Speaking of animals, does anyone know what happened to walrus?

[Yashi]

I was expecting this to be USPCC because of the "spin-off" with the Gorilla riding a bicycle. I'm not really picky between USPCC and EPCC but the "story" of the back just doesn't seem united since it's being printed by EPCC. However, I'm in for a two-deck EB though.

[Maddest Hammer]

While this isn't exactly my bowl of potatoes, it is a pretty f'ing hilarious deck. I wonder, though, if USPCC will stick their "800 pound gorilla" in here with an IP violation with the rider-back...

bad pun, I know...

[vasta41]

While this isn't exactly my bowl of potatoes, it is a pretty f'ing hilarious deck. I wonder, though, if USPCC will stick their "800 pound gorilla" in here with an IP violation with the rider-back...

bad pun, I know...

Must say, if they do I wouldn't blame them.

[daveEdgerly]

I hope that the USPCC doesn't have an issue. Part of the reason I went with EPCC was to make sure I could get it printed. If the USPCC has a big problem, I'll change it enough to make them happy. I doubt we will have any issues though.

[ecNate]

I hope that the USPCC doesn't have an issue. Part of the reason I went with EPCC was to make sure I could get it printed. If the USPCC has a big problem, I'll change it enough to make them happy. I doubt we will have any issues though.

It's clearly a parody and should be covered under fair use, nobody is realistically going to get it confused with a Bike deck. Although C&D letters ignore that and just hope to avoid having to hear it from a judge so who knows. Hopefully it won't be an issue though, because it shouldn't be!

[TLZ1979]

love the deck, great design, count me in as well.

[TLZ1979]

wonder if you could have got away with moving the

"gorilla word down to the bottom of the tuck box" and put the word "TRI-CYCLE" where the Gorilla is.

[ryzellon]

Hrm. I seem to recall some posts that said the rider-backs are trademarked. I searched UC and didn't find anything, but here and here it's mentioned. I guess I could look for more official proof, but I'm pretty certain Don's correct.

I think there's a potential issue: will consumers, looking at the card back, think that USPCC made the item? I'm skeptical that a parody defense will be sufficient because, even recognizing that it's parodic, a consumer may reasonably think it's a USPCC deck for a number of reasons.

[daveEdgerly]

I think if I got rid of the Bicycle wheel in the middle that may be enough of a change. I'm not offering these decks beyond the limited run that will cover the backers, so it shouldn't be a consumer issue.

[ryzellon]

I'll address this point first and ponder the rest:

I'm not offering these decks beyond the limited run that will cover the backers, so it shouldn't be a consumer issue.

Unless you were only going to distribute them to friends/family, the fact that it's a commercial product at all means you've got consumers. I suppose you can argue that anyone directly backing on KS is under no illusions that this is USPCC, but there's a significant secondary market. Someone browsing ebay might come across a listing and think it's a USPCC deck.

[daveEdgerly]

True, I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. The allure of the deck in my opinion is the gorillas and the standard design. If I have to alter the card back and tuck case, I don't think it will take away from the overall design.

[ddorn]

One of my main reasons for liking the deck so much was that the back looked so similar to the Bikes. Definitely made me LOL!

Hopefully that won't be an issue.

First backer, btw...

[Maddest Hammer]

Sorry, Dave. I didn't mean to cause a debate. My concern was that USPCC might get their panties in a twist, and try and trod all over a perfectly good deck. The puns just write themselves, but, let it ride!

[daveEdgerly]

No worries, let's hope they don't. We just ordered 8,000 decks from the USPCC from the last campaign that I worked on and plan on using them again in the future. I hope they see the fun in this deck and that it is more of an homage.

[vasta41]

While this isn't exactly my bowl of potatoes, it is a pretty f'ing hilarious deck. I wonder, though, if USPCC will stick their "800 pound gorilla" in here with an IP violation with the rider-back...

bad pun, I know...

Must say, if they do I wouldn't blame them.

Just to clarify- I hope they don't mind. But even more so I wish this were Bicycle-branded. Not saying the tuck looks bad or anything like that, I'm just a sucker for the Bicycle brand. Not saying anything bad about the EPCC; not saying anything good about the USPCC. Just personal preference. Again, I think the deck looks great as-is, just not for me.

[lolo]

No worries, let's hope they don't. We just ordered 8,000 decks from the USPCC from the last campaign that I worked on and plan on using them again in the future. I hope they see the fun in this deck and that it is more of an homage.

Perhaps they would prefer royalties instead of a homage

[DragonSoul]

I don't know Dave. I really like the deck and the back design is clever but, it does seem a tad wrong to me to base your design on a traditional Bicycle trademark and NOT print it with USPCC. To be honest, I saw the pictures, thought it was USPCC and grabbed a 2 deck EB before I read through and saw you were using EPCC. That made it feel a little bit like a cheat to me.

[daveEdgerly]

I'm having a trademark lawyer look at the designs and advise me. Not using the USPCC was a business choice after my experience on the last campaign. The cards are a parody and in no way ridicule the USPCC. The similarity is in the card back and the tuck case as well as the AOS. I can change all of these and will as soon as possible if need be. As a backer you can cancel your pledge at any time and I feel that if I change the designs early enough, it gives the backers plenty of time to make a decision. I put a lot of work into these cards. Even though there are similarities in the designs, there are a lot of original aspects and art as well. I didn't just copy rider backs and stick a gorilla in the middle. Only the center of the card back is similar to rider backs. The tuck case has a similar layout, but the artwork is all original.

[DragonSoul]

Hey, I like your artwork! I've backed your other decks. I just don't see it as a true parody. Simply put, it looks like a customized Bicycle deck therefore I would expect this to be printed by USPCC. Since, it is not, I would expect to see a different back design. In any case, I'm still in. The only thing I debated when I realized it wasn't USPCC is whether to drop my pledge down because I'm not that fond of EPCC decks and don't usually buy multiples of them. I decided not to because I do like your work. Love the dice btw!

[daveEdgerly]

I really appreciate your support and am happy that you like my art. It means a lot to hear that from you guys here at UC. I may do another back design and see how it is received. And I'm very happy with the dice as well. We are considering doing a black pair too.
My reasons for not using the USPCC are many. I'm not interested in printing the minimum 2500 run of decks that they offer. Since this is a limited run, I only want to cover the backers and a few for myself. With EPCC I can print as few as 1000 decks. It also becomes very expensive with the USPCC to add embossing and foil, not to mention they tack on setup fees and an art fee that is always at least $1000.00. They also have a + or - 10% clause in their contracts that commits you to purchasing any decks that they happen to print over you order. so if I order 2500 decks at $6.00 per deck and they print %10 more, I have to pay for them. Likewise if I need 2500 decks and they print 10% less, I'm out of luck to fulfill my orders. In the world of custom playing cards you have to keep your costs low if you want to make a profit and pay your bills. EPCC is making it easy for custom deck designers to print the decks they need the way that they want to. I think in the coming months you are going to see a lot more designers going with EPCC to print their decks.

[daveEdgerly]

I wanted to show this to you guys first. It's tomorrow's update, the Ace and 10 of hearts. Love to have your input.

[wahl0108]

Wish the gorilla head in the background was two-way and there were tire treads, but they look sharp!

[Bikefanatic]

Wish the gorilla head in the background was two-way and there were tire treads, but they look sharp!

I was thinking about this too. What if the gorilla heads could be the actual pips instead of the big one way image in the background? Check out the Bicycle Pandamonium deck for example.

[samurai007]

I like the 1 large picture better, 2 smaller ones would be blocked by the pips too much on certain cards unless the pips were arranged around them.