Thread: Can this prop end up costing me Big Time

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I am not good with the whole legal system and copyrights. I am sure many of you are not either but i get the feeling that there are few that lurk on here that may know this. As some of you may know i am trying to start a little side job selling custom made props. I like to make replicas of props from movies if i can. So i started thinking about some props i would like to recreate to then one day sell. One was the Pumkin King from the Nightmare before Christmas, another was my Resident Evil Dog, and finally was Beetlejuice's Tombstone. Making these props isn't the problem. My problem is this; If i were to create these replicas and then sell them for a profit can i get in trouble due to copyright laws? Even if i list the prop as a custom homemade replica? Ihave had some people tell me yes and others no. So i am torn on the situation.

I'd like to know the in's and out's about this sort of thing before i land myself in hot water.

Thanks a lot,

Nick

Generally, you need a license to recreate props that are exact replicas of ones you see in movies or use trademarked names ("Beetlejuice", for example, on the tombstone) for sale to others. However, if you add your own flair to the prop, you may skirt this requirement. If you're making the prop for your own non-commercial use, it's unlikely to raise the attention level of the studio that owns it to even send you a letter.

Originally Posted by CraigInPA

if you add your own flair to the prop, you may skirt this requirement.

but then it's no longer a prop replica it becomes an interpretation of a prop....

maybe he can try writing the companies and asking for permission to reproduce the props, maybe pay a small fee for the right to reproduce them, they might allow it, they might not but at least he wont get sued.

I'm not a lawyer, but I have had some copyright law courses.


You'd have to do a check with a copyright lawyer to get the exact reasoning, but if you're promoting the items as "xx prop from yyy movie" then yes, it would be leaving you open to being sued for making unlicensed props. (doesn't matter if it's homemade)

It's not so much the copying it's the selling of the copies that will get you into hot water.

If you called them something else and did not make them exact replicas (and not use the names, or "as seen in xyz movie" or the like) you aren't AS likely, but something like Beetlejuice's tombstone or Jack the Pumpkin King would definitely not be something you could sell in an open market without leaving yourself open to a lawsuit. And if you're selling stuff even that aren't exact copies, if it's too close to the movie stuff, they may still be able to come after you for derivative works - being a close copy is still dangerous if they are feeling sue-happy.

The skinned dogs, not so much since it's well, a skinned dog. I know you're using the Resident Evil movie as a jumping off point, but there have been skinned dogs in the game series Silent Hill as well, so this prop is more open to artistic license. If you said "RESIDENT EVIL skinned dog" that would be bad, but skinned dog is generic enough to not be a real problem as far as I can see. You really can't make something like Jack as he is a whole creation (proprietary) from Tim Burton - and the character is so iconic that it doesn't remotely fall into a generic category.

You'd basically be making yourself a for-profit commercial venture even if it's on a small scale, and if the studios notice your props, (which they very well might if you use Ebay or other types of web storefronts) they can come after you.

It's a similar situation to the counterfeit purses or shoes that are ripping off Chanel and YSL and such. You wouldn't have permission and they would not be getting a cut of the profits, and the cut would be pretty big if you could work out a deal in addition to how they want their characters portrayed so they'd have say on quality control and construction as well. That's how the props say they are "officially licensed characters" are worked out.

As a hobby for your own usage or a few friends, making exact replicas are probably pretty safe - home haunters build stuff like this all the time - but once you move into the realm of advertising movie replicas for sale, you put yourself in danger of a lawsuit. May not happen, but it can.

One additional point from my own experience... The studios aren't interested in small dollar figure licensing deals. They'll want you to pay $10k or $20k up front against the sales royalty on your licensed product. That's fine if you're anticipating making $1M in product for sale in Wal-Mart or Dollar Tree, but not so good if you're making $1k worth of them in your garage.

Well, in the mask collecting community, people make replicas all the time and there are very few repercussions. However, occasionally studios will come after people by sending them letters demanding they take their products down. So, you could fly under the radar and get away with it, but if the studios decide to crack down you are making yourself open to be sued.

What if i were to make Beetlejuices tombstone but did not put the lettering on it? Say i switched it out with some other name? The pumpkin King seems liek a lost cause after reading all of this.

Thanks by the way to everyone so far.

i would play it safe and sit down with a lawyer .. i mean whats a few hundred dollars up front if it saves you thousands later (not to mention the grief and loss of time you would save yourself) frankie's girl brings up alot of good points... good luck

Well I'm more versed in written copyrights but I don't believe you can copyright a shape (though if it evokes a direct connection already used as one i.e. Mickey Mouse silouette) it would.

For instance you cannot copyright a circle, triangle, or any universal shape. And the Beatlejuice tombstone merely resembles a slab of rock with winged skeletons pointing down. You can find such imagery everywhere (i.e. Gothic works) in many sources, so I don't think it's simple combination could be argued as a property.

if you make one replica and sell it once it's ok. If you market them in mass then it isn't. Simple as that.