At 09:07 PM 8/6/2002 -0700, Clockwork Alice wrote:
>Hi I've always wondered how to get a character copyrighted, I'd love to
>put my cartoons on the net but I'm afraid someone would copy them
>especially because of the Simpson fanclub experiance ( I did Simpson style
>cartoons of famous people, and some ass was printing them on T-shirts and
>selling them WITHOUT asking me!)any info would be great!
In a nutshell:
Any original creation you make is copyrighted to you the moment you make
it. You can prevent use by simply proving you made it, but cannot claim
damages unless you register the copyright. Registering the copyright costs
money and must be done for each individual piece.
The -characters- themselves cannot be copyrighted. The picture you do of
the characters can, but somebody else can legally take the same-looking
creature/character and even call it the same character, do their own
picture of it, and you have no legal recourse. Of course, in the fandom,
the perpetrator ends up socially ostracized and reamed by the rest of the
fans, but that's about it.
Characters can only be trademarked, again, needs to be registered, and
costs several thousand. As well, you need to actively pursue -all-
trademark infringements, otherwise you lose the right to.
Overall, it's somewhat complex and confusing, but there are a number of
good web references about it. :)
- Kit
Received on Tue Aug 06 2002 - 22:51:25 CDT