Pendants are Copyrighted.
Most of you who have followed me from the beginning will know that my work has gone through some changes in the last 3 years since it all began. The original pendants were only offered as such, just pendants. No chains were available at the time. Grant it, they were not hard to come by, but I was so new at this that I only focused most of my time and energy on just making the pendants and perfecting the craft. At the time, there were a few out there that had been making them for some time now. They hardly ever advertised and if you searched long enough, you might find them.
The stuff that was out before was subpar. They were decent but I personally felt they could always be better. When I began, I was also in the same boat. About the only thing I could do was make it slightly better in the way they were designed and another thing that others never offered were sizes. Other sellers only had one size, maybe two. I had at best, 3 when I started plus, I started with the one color that is standard for the Baphomet pendants, Black!
When I began, my pendants were very close to what others had at the time. This is now referred to as the 'first generation' of pendants when I talk to people about them. Now keep in mind that many years ago, The Church of Satan once had an eCommerce website called Emporium. I remember seeing their Baphomet necklaces and thought to myself, the quality is pretty impressive but there's still SOME minor details that I would have NOT done when producing them. They would have a hole at the top of the Baphomet pendant itself! First generation of pendants I produced have the hole as part of the medallion but on the OUTSIDE of the design itself. Not only that but they also offered their pendants with a black cord. Now personally, I am not a fan of black cords. To me, its like having a shoelace around my neck. I thought to myself back then that if I ever create a better pendant, I would want to include at minimum a ball chain.
Then came the second generation of pendants. They were much more improved than the first generation. They were thick, heavier, polished edges and literally gave the appeal of a real pendant compared to the first generation. Over the course of their release, I also improved the chain. No longer offering ball chains but an actually stainless steel chain. It complimented the piece at a complete package. A respectable one at best, whereas a shoelace-looking cord would not do justice. I could have easily stopped there and be happy with the new-found ability to create better quality but by then, the competition that existed long before I came along would probably attempt to catch up. Plus, there were a few new cats to the market and they certainly tried to take me down by smearing my work through declarations that my works were not well made, and then it happened...the copyright issue.
The copyright issue has been argued so much at this point that I have discussed this in previous blogs and until this month (May) I finally made a page to officially put the issue at rest. However, its not all just to set the record aside because I took things a step further. I filed for copyrights for ALL my pendants. Just like any other artist or writer, in order to protect your work it is best to file a copyright. The reason this needed to be done was because during the first and second generation, I began to see that competition was not so happy to see a newcomer sweeping away the competition by bringing something that I personally felt people would prefer to own. For years and for a few decades, no one has been able to come up with a better concept. I had done my due diligence to see how these pendants can be produced with the best quality ever produced. Up until this point, nearly ALL jewelers I reached out to had turned me away. No jeweler I reached out wanted to work with me due to what the jewelry would represent. I did not have the time to take up jewelry making classes so I set out to figure out other means to produce these items. These days, I can finally make them in precious metals but due to the recession that we are still coming out of, the price of silver and gold is still too high and not worth the price for what I am trying to do. I wanted to keep affordability in mind along with quality and craftsmanship.
For a period of time, there was at least ONE competitor that began to mimic my every move. Everything from introducing new items to the way I advertise. Not only that but putting slanderous statements out there about my products. It was then that I decided to seek legal counsel and was educated and informed about copyright laws and the likes of trademarks, etc. That was when I decided that it was time I did so. The artwork is mostly in public domain. They are not owned by anyone in particular and they were never copyrighted either. Therefore, I knew that for the most part a religious symbol is pretty much common public domain. However, since it was apparent that someone was trying to copy my work by creating strong resemblance to my own in the way I applied color to the 3rd generation of pendants and others in the second generation where I used color combinations to create a new pendant. Until I came along, NO ONE has ever created pendants in 2 or more colors. The combinations were from an idea that stemmed by a customer who suggested it. I even compensated that customer just for throwing out that idea at me. It was a whole new concept that was in a sense discovered. Thus, these pendants were then more than just jewelry, they were becoming works of art for me. How I applied the colors to them, specifically in the 3rd generation of pendants needed to be protected.
In order to preserve the work I have mastered to create, they needed protection against anyone who wants to come along and confuse the public with their renditions by selling subpar quality, unoriginal works, and ruin the reputation my work and my personal guarantee to the customers. This is MAINLY the reason for the copyrights that were filed. I started this by saying that for years or perhaps a couple decades, no one has ever come up with a Baphomet pendant necklace that would meet the quality people would have always appreciated and wanted, until I came along. For that reason and others I mentioned, I felt the need to file copyrights on this. Now, while there's certainly other versions out there in existence, none will be allowed to mimic the way mine are created. By the time they catch up to my technology used and they put forth the effort to do what I have done, they will be legally be taken down unless they seek the legal permission to do so by myself OR perhaps be allowed to have a licensing deal. Otherwise, they are more than welcomed to buy wholesale but not be allowed to copy my methods of production. Thus, this concludes why they are officially copyrighted. More information will follow to verify the copyright and will be posted on the website in due time. In the meantime, I highly recommend not to challenge my ability to file suit either. The customers deserve to have the right to get quality items from a reputable designer.
Thank You all for your support,
Hail Satan! ~ Xerxes
