Possible copycat of MBA Humpback whale?

[callmejoe3]

So I've been looking up these sculptures done by this ornament company, Batela, which did the giant sperm whale in my collection. I've noticed they had a humpback whale that had a close resemblance to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Collection humpback whale. The sculpture even appears to be the same size as the total length is listed as 36cm. The resemblance only became more uncanny as I was more scrutinous in my comparison.




Notice the matching poses, shape of the body, the position of the pectoral fins, etc.




Here's a more direct look across the profiles, as they appear to be nearly identical besides the tail being slightly lower on the Safari figure.




Even the tails are curved towards the same side.




And here are the close-ups of the faces. Outside of some minor stuff with the throat pleats and tubercles, they definitely appear to be the same.

I find this interesting as Batela doesn't come off as this obscure, knock-off brand as far as I know, so I wonder if they were legally given permission or if there's something shady behind this. Either way, it seems like a rip-off because this statue is going for about 45-65 pounds on their UK website and it's basically a monotone resin statue. For $37, one can get a fully-pigmented Safari Ltd. version.

[Loon]

I've seen similar things with some ornament companies. I saw a "Designer Collection" at a craft store once that featured several bootlegged Mcdonalds happy meal toys. The only difference was they were solid, single piece ornaments with a bunch of glitter, but it was the same molds.