Hi! I wasn't exactly sure where to ask this, but since I'm in the process of writing my script, I figure here might be OK. As of right now, I'm writing a character that likes to drag a life-size cardboard cutout of Chewbacca from Stars Wars with her. If I try to distribute or send the film to festivals, will I get sued by Disney(current owners of Star Wars)?
Legalities of using a cardboard cut-out of a famous person/character in your film
- Thread starter SMMM
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Egg Born Son
Veteran
Most likely. Ask permission. Or come up with a fictional (I know, ha) character that is like chewbacca (Twobacco?) from a star wars-like cult film that takes the cultural place of star wars in your fictional variation of the world. It might work better anyway and presents a wider opportunity for in-jokes and sly references. Think Galaxy Quest/Star Trek. Avoids all the problems, removes none of the potential for Star Trek references and opens up the ability to reference a genre instead of being restricted to one show.
Thank you for the response! All good ideas. I should clarify that the reason I'm writing in a Chewbacca cutout is because I own one already (convenience). I'd like to avoid designing a fictional fictional character and making my own cutout if possible. I could perhaps modify the existing cutout? Add a mustache, a hat, a little of this and that? And then avoid calling it by name, or call it by a different name?
Barry_Green
Moderator
It depends on what you're using it for and why. If it's a parody, you're likely going to be fine. Well, let's correct that -- Disney can sue anyone for any reason, parody or not; your legal defense would be that it was a parody, but you wouldn't invoke that until after you'd been sued. And getting sued is enough of a hassle that it makes making-sure-you-won't-get-sued a pretty appealing alternative (which Egg Born Son is advising; by asking permission or using an alternate character, either way, both methods preclude any question of getting sued).
Second -- what's the distribution going to be? If it's some little film that's going to end up playing a few film festivals and then sitting on your shelf, then it's very unlikely that they'd ever know about it, much less care to sue over it. It's a risk you take, perhaps, but really -- how much of a risk? As the saying goes, you're taking a risk every time you cross the street, so at some point you have to evaluate what level of risk you're comfortable with.
Next, it depends on what you're doing with the character. There are some areas which are just absolute no-no's, such as using a character or likeness to endorse a product. You simply cannot do that; celebrities and characters have an inherent "right of publicity" which means that they alone are allowed to determine when and where their image gets used for commercial endorsements.
LucasFilm has been pretty generous in allowing their fans to make fan films, and even gone so far as to supply some original sound effects so the fans can have real sound effects. But obviously any for-profit venture would be requiring permission.
If it doesn't matter to your script which character you use, and you want to avoid all risk, then I'd say avoid the most red-flag disney/lucasfilm characters and pick some generic character and ask permission, or hire an art student and pay them $10 to draw something on a sheet of foam core.
In the real world, I mean, unless your project has some real budget behind it and a real distribution plan, or unless you're planning on doing something unsavory with the character, then I think your risk is probably pretty minimal that anything would happen... but nobody can guarantee you that it WON'T happen, of course... hence why if you want to avoid all risk, getting permission is the safest route.
Second -- what's the distribution going to be? If it's some little film that's going to end up playing a few film festivals and then sitting on your shelf, then it's very unlikely that they'd ever know about it, much less care to sue over it. It's a risk you take, perhaps, but really -- how much of a risk? As the saying goes, you're taking a risk every time you cross the street, so at some point you have to evaluate what level of risk you're comfortable with.
Next, it depends on what you're doing with the character. There are some areas which are just absolute no-no's, such as using a character or likeness to endorse a product. You simply cannot do that; celebrities and characters have an inherent "right of publicity" which means that they alone are allowed to determine when and where their image gets used for commercial endorsements.
LucasFilm has been pretty generous in allowing their fans to make fan films, and even gone so far as to supply some original sound effects so the fans can have real sound effects. But obviously any for-profit venture would be requiring permission.
If it doesn't matter to your script which character you use, and you want to avoid all risk, then I'd say avoid the most red-flag disney/lucasfilm characters and pick some generic character and ask permission, or hire an art student and pay them $10 to draw something on a sheet of foam core.
In the real world, I mean, unless your project has some real budget behind it and a real distribution plan, or unless you're planning on doing something unsavory with the character, then I think your risk is probably pretty minimal that anything would happen... but nobody can guarantee you that it WON'T happen, of course... hence why if you want to avoid all risk, getting permission is the safest route.
Thanks a lot, Barry - that was very informative. As you say, this'll probably go to a couple festivals and sit on a DVD shelf, but I wanna be safe. I'm going to go ahead and send a request to Disney to the address listed in this link I found: http://disneyinteractivestudios.cus...regarding-commercial-use-of-disney-properties
Any tips of what to say or include in the request? It's literally just a couple small gags of a girl hiding behind a Chewie cutout and pretending to be Chewie(imitating his voice and such). G-rated stuff, nothing vulgar, not endorsing anything.
Any tips of what to say or include in the request? It's literally just a couple small gags of a girl hiding behind a Chewie cutout and pretending to be Chewie(imitating his voice and such). G-rated stuff, nothing vulgar, not endorsing anything.
Egg Born Son
Veteran
Hopefully they will appreciate that you asked. As Barry pointed out, under Lucasfilm the Star Wars franchise has been quite tolerant of fan productions. Disney's reputation is less accomodating but I expect their main concern would be protecting the brand image, in the absence of money to cash in on. In that case I expect you will be fine.
Rolf Silber
Veteran
Here you have something to read about an actual movie - interesting.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blo...row-disney-world-and-the-law-of-fair-use.html
Have to admit the film-makers have guts: Disney copyright department could behave like a swarm of rapid, flying Pirhanas.... ;-)
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blo...row-disney-world-and-the-law-of-fair-use.html
Have to admit the film-makers have guts: Disney copyright department could behave like a swarm of rapid, flying Pirhanas.... ;-)
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clang
Veteran
Using a Chewbacca cutout just because you own one already is not a good reason, or at least, its minor advantage is wildly outweighed by the risk of getting your ass sued off.
Work out what sort of cutout character suits your plot and actor characters, then make up your own character to match, get someone to dress up accordingly and photograph them, and build a cutout (any print shop can easily print you a giant blowup of a photograph).
Work out what sort of cutout character suits your plot and actor characters, then make up your own character to match, get someone to dress up accordingly and photograph them, and build a cutout (any print shop can easily print you a giant blowup of a photograph).
Allan Black
Veteran
In this case, I would have thought the risk of actually getting sued by Disney was minimal, especially if it's a parody, but a search indicates otherwise ..
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121121/17554921119/disney-sued-copyright-infringement.shtml
There are other stories there. If they find out, probably via a festival, (or this thread
, the legal dept will likely send you a cease and desist letter first and you'd have to rejig it.
If it's feasible, you could shoot 2 versions and send in the Chewbacca version. It might generate favourable festival publicity.
But if you don't want to go that route, follow the above suggestions. Good luck.
Cheers.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121121/17554921119/disney-sued-copyright-infringement.shtml
There are other stories there. If they find out, probably via a festival, (or this thread
, the legal dept will likely send you a cease and desist letter first and you'd have to rejig it. If it's feasible, you could shoot 2 versions and send in the Chewbacca version. It might generate favourable festival publicity.
But if you don't want to go that route, follow the above suggestions. Good luck.
Cheers.