Her Lightsaber collection is legend. As well as her knowledge.
Newbie Question Regarding the Law
- Thread starter DeepDenizen
- Start date
Better to ask forgivness then ask permission.
It's still 100% illegal, as is most of this board. I know of several members who have recieved C&Ds from Junkyard sales (Stargate comes to mind).
It depends on the Studio or Licencee. They are here, they watch and sometimes they act. Seems to be the luck of the draw.
I see, I guess its something that I never really gave a second thought. Thanks!
propologist
Sr Member
Well as it appears to be illegal i won't be making it at all
Good Lord man grow some will ya....Just do whatever makes you happy. They can't touch you if it's personal use . If your selling it they will scare you with a C & D if it's a small bit place, but Lucas is pretty cool about his fan -made creations.
Actually, yes they can.
If you make anything that is copyright protected the copyright holder has the right to protect their works. 'Personal Use' does not hold water in the eyes of the law.
defstartrooper
Sr Member
Reproducing anything from movies/tv/games etc is illegal but it's a civil matter which means you won't have the police paying a visit and you will only end up in court if the legal owner files a suit against you.
It's pretty rare that anything ever gets that far, if a studio or licencee objects to your producing or selling something they'll first send a formal letter teling you to stop or they'll consider taking things further, most people have the good sense to stop at that point.
I can only think of a couple of times where someone has ended up in court and those were commercial enterprises selling bootlegs as a business and they ignored warnings.
It's pretty rare that anything ever gets that far, if a studio or licencee objects to your producing or selling something they'll first send a formal letter teling you to stop or they'll consider taking things further, most people have the good sense to stop at that point.
I can only think of a couple of times where someone has ended up in court and those were commercial enterprises selling bootlegs as a business and they ignored warnings.
DeepDenizen
New Member
Would a 2:1 C3PO be about twelve feet tall? That would be cool to see.
Lol yeah i kind of meant 1:2, scale fail
Too Much Garlic
Master Member
That would scare the crap outa me. Keep him small... 1:1 or under.
Most anything in our hobby is illegal. We still build and sell stuff. If we get C&D'ed, we stop and move on to the next project. No point in pissing the studios off, as they are very lenient when it comes to our illegal hobby (the part not dealing with licensed products). We keep the love alive for the franchises, so they cut us some slack, until they decide not to. That's their prerogative and we try to honor it as best we can.
Most anything in our hobby is illegal. We still build and sell stuff. If we get C&D'ed, we stop and move on to the next project. No point in pissing the studios off, as they are very lenient when it comes to our illegal hobby (the part not dealing with licensed products). We keep the love alive for the franchises, so they cut us some slack, until they decide not to. That's their prerogative and we try to honor it as best we can.
People who have made batmobiles for "personal use" and have shown them in certain public venues will quickly tell you that this can get you into potential trouble. And if you make money from showing the car, that's even worse. Arguably, they could request to confiscate the infringing reproduction and sue for damages. Typically, they'll tell a batmobile reproduction owner to not show the vehicle promotionally anymore.
As others have posted before, it's illegal to make a reproduction of anything that belongs to someone else.
People always try to make up funny little rules that justify what they're doing, however, but copyright law is very clear on what infringement actually is.
I've gotten my share of C&Ds (cease and desist orders) in the past. When I got one of those, I immediately stopped the infringing activity.
Phil
blownhemi
Well-Known Member
You know, I've never thought about the vehicle aspect of it before. My dream prop is a General Lee, and I never once thought about the possible legal aspects. From my understanding, though, the studio is pretty cool with them, though. But if I get my way, I would eventually branch out to various vehicle replicas, being a car guy, and knowing that some of them could have the studios looking at me makes me think some research would be in order before I got too into whatever project.
I also have to wonder about a gentleman that had an Adam West Batmobile replica that I got pictures with ages ago at a model convention. He was making a profit from it. I hope he didn't get into trouble.
CustomCreations
Sr Member
Well, I think that so long as you are not:
*Implying you have permission to make them
*Using official Logos and badges in your pictures
*Selling a 'Vast' number
*Offer a product which is already (and) currently available from a legitimate source
Then the guy offering the small run is fine.
Usually, it would cost more in their Lawyers to chase the little guy than they would loose in revenue letting the sales continue.
Many see it as a form of promotion anyway- some of the stuff made on here come from really obscure movies made a while ago
You only have to look at the costuming forum to see how liberal some companies can be ;-)
*Implying you have permission to make them
*Using official Logos and badges in your pictures
*Selling a 'Vast' number
*Offer a product which is already (and) currently available from a legitimate source
Then the guy offering the small run is fine.
Usually, it would cost more in their Lawyers to chase the little guy than they would loose in revenue letting the sales continue.
Many see it as a form of promotion anyway- some of the stuff made on here come from really obscure movies made a while ago
You only have to look at the costuming forum to see how liberal some companies can be ;-)
PHArchivist
Master Member
PHArchivist
Master Member
No - you weren't. But that is how Denizen took it. So, good that it has been clarified.
That bold statement quoted above is a dangerous mindset by the way.
To clarify what has been posted, any film or television program will bear a copyright that protects just about anything seen within the work, and reproducing copyrighted material is a no no.
Doesn't matter if you sell or not, or if you have a web site or not, or whatever...
Sorry to say this Denizen, but this entire thread just makes me squirm.
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propologist
Sr Member
That's the party line , but realistically very few will ever end up in court. If you still limit them to an " edition" or " run" as we call them here , you shouldn't have any issues.
I have a few C/D in my day , most recently on my KISS crazy foam cans. I had a Eric Carr can that the family liked but didn't want to be sold. After I told them it was a limited edition of 25 they had no issues with it. I still sell the set and " give away " the Eric Carr can with purchase
If your making a Batmobile, you " intent" is more often than not to make money. Duuuhhh
DeepDenizen
New Member
Firstly i may not have made myself clear, i now clearly understand that any reproduction is illegal if it is not licensed. I am not of the mindset you put in bold i just didn't explain myself very well.
Secondly, why does it make you squirm? It's a simple question, it has been answered well and i (and it seems others) have learned something. A simple question asking advice should not make you squirm!
Thanks to everyone who replied, i think i'll skip C3PO as it has been officially licensed i'll no doubt get something through the post, i am sure i can find another project for my first thing to post on the forums
feek61
Sr Member
Unless of course it's R_bbie the R_bot; then your are screwed!!!
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