Meta: At what point am I violating copyright/trademark laws?

EDMLite robrogers72 at gmail.com
Tue Jun 7 14:29:16 PDT 2011


On Jun 7, 7:02 am, Phantasm <phantom_belc... at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Here's the deal.  In the upcoming Silver Arrow #7, the title
> character's parents are visiting him in the hospital.  Because they're
> trying to protect his identity, they show up wearing Halloween
> costumes from a few years ago.
>
> In my mind, those costumes are mockups of the ones worn by Michael
> Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer in _Batman Returns_. (At least the Bat-
> suit won't have nipples! WTF, Schumacher?!)  So when asked for their
> names by the nurse on duty at the ICU, they reply "Bruce Wayne" and
> "Selena Kyle Wayne".  The nurse's reaction is probably going to be
> something like "... you're kidding, right?", clearly not believing the
> names.
>
> Now, I know I've used "What would Batman do?" as a plot point in the
> past, referencing the old Adam West deathtraps.  But in this case, am
> I possibly violating DC's copyrights/trademarks by doing this, or am I
> still covered under "fair use", as I'm making it quite clear that the
> characters are only dressed up as such?
>
> Your thoughts on this are appreciated.

I'm no legal expert, but I'm fairly sure you're OK
on this one.  You aren't really using the copyrighted
characters in question — and you certainly aren't
making any money from their use.

--Easily-Discovered Man Lite
--Never tells anyone when he dresses
up in Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman costume


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