Where do copyright lines lie?

[zeedox]

I noticed that the head of Robin for example shows up on some other figures. Even if you think about it the original Iron Man head can be repainted to look different. Where does the copyright line lie on the old megos? Is it possible to redress each one into something out of copyright?

Sorta a list like this

WAVE ONE
Hero Man (Superman)
Night Crusader (Batman)
Colossal Man (Hulk)
Armored Soldier (Iron Man)

etc.

[LadyZod]

DC sued Fawcett over Captain Marvel saying he looked too much like Superman. The lawsuit bankrupted Fawcett. DC now owns Captain Marvel (Shazam.)

Is it possible? Sure. But do you have the money to fight DC (Warner)'s lawyers? What about Marvel & Disney?

[BlackKnight]

DC sued Fawcett over Captain Marvel saying he looked too much like Superman. The lawsuit bankrupted Fawcett. DC now owns Captain Marvel (Shazam.)

I still can not believe that even happened.
That Judge should not have been allowed to Judge again imo.
Captain Marvel is nothing like Superman, He has the powers of the Gods, and is a Little boy that Transform's into Shazam! . Musta been the Cape with Flowers on it, that did Him in.

... I am so glad DC Has done so much more with the character since then.

[drmego]

The Superman/Captain Marvel lawsuit is very interesting - Alter Ego magazine
has done a lot of articles on the details. It's not as simple as it seems.

As for copyright, there are design elements that make a character
recognizeable - be it Batman or Mickey Mouse. If you change enough
of those elements, then Spider-Man becomes Spawn - or Superman
becomes Captain Marvel.

[LadyZod]

You have to look at the timeframe of the Superman/Captain Marvel case.

Superheroes were new, and they were few. Back then a kid would walk up to the Newstand and say, I want the comic with Superman in it. The news guy would say, Huh?

The kid would then describe Superman as a strong guy with a cape. Newstand guy would look over his rack and pull out whatever was close... Captain Marvel fits the bill, so confusion in the market place.

If a reasonable person at the time of said case *could* confuse the characters, that might be considered enough proof of a copyright violation on the part of Fawcett.

I'm not saying that is right, just say it's probable. Remember, comic characters were for kids.

[BlackKnight]

^^^ I understand some of that, however they shoulda brought in a "Kid Expert" . They will bring in an Expert of a field all the time with certain cases, just because Tommy over here is a Kid, doesn't mean he knows Crap about Super Heroes, because He is a Kid ..., But Bill over here, has been reading for a few yrs, and He could qualify as an Expert, because the Differences are clearly more than a Super Powered Dude with Black Hair, that Can Fly and has a Cape.

If this case woulda been ruled today, it would have been thrown out imo.
There is far too much stuff Today, that rips other stuff off, and is barley even looked at. So much Mirror , Mirror stuff out there.

[hedrap]

The Superman/Captain Marvel lawsuit is very interesting - Alter Ego magazine
has done a lot of articles on the details. It's not as simple as it seems.

As for copyright, there are design elements that make a character
recognizeable - be it Batman or Mickey Mouse. If you change enough
of those elements, then Spider-Man becomes Spawn - or Superman
becomes Captain Marvel.

Excellent way of putting it. Most people look at one standard and think they can deviate, never realizing they can run smack dab into another.

I think you could use the ol' Mego heads as a base point, but if you keep certain details, you'll have trouble. Trademarks cover distinct aspects. I don't think you can take a Hulk paint him beige and call him Strong Man. You'd have to shave his head, give him a goatee...and then hope Stone Cold Steve Austin or Goldberg doesn't send a cease-n-desist.

[B-Lister]

As for copyright, there are design elements that make a character
recognizeable - be it Batman or Mickey Mouse.

Matt Groening (Creator of the Simpsons and Futurama) put it best:

"ALL Truly Great Characters are instantly recognizable in silhouette."

[samurainoir]

My understanding about the Superman/Captain Marvel battle is that rather than continue the fight, which was ending up costing them too much $$, Fawcett decided to settle out of court with National. In the end, it was more about who had the deeper pockets with Fawcett going out of business soon after.

[samurainoir]

As for analogue characters, you can use the archetype to create a new character, but it's unlikely that the new character would exceed the icon in popularity in the long run when it comes to Superman, Batman, Hulk and Iron Man.

Some cases in point...


and his analogues...




Iron Man


and his knock offs...





Hulk


no other of these derivative character has surpassed Big Green

[samurainoir]

Although I think the original question pertained to the head sculpts. Who owns the right to the sculpts and have they lost those rights by failing to protect them?

Particularly in the case of the Knights, Robin Hood characters, Western Heroes etc that have been re-created by CTV in recent years?

Obviously Batman and Spiderman are way too distinct to the characters to be utilized in another manner, but look how they repurposed Bruce Wayne's head. So what if someone paints Iron Man's head Blue and Silver for their Original Steel Man figure?

[zeedox]

Exactly what I was asking

EXACTLY!

The suggestion was meant as a different "retro" avenue that redone characters, meaning, think of the original megos as actors who were re-cast and were at something like conventions signing autographs.

:-p

[drmego]

MEGO was clever about making the sculpts of TV characters look like the actor
without being a dead ringer. McCoy is reminscient of DeForest Kelly without
being a real likeness. Same with Scotty.

As for Robin Hood, pirates, etc. I don't know if Marty got all that back when
he bought back the MEGO name. I have not had a chance to discuss that
with him since Toy Fair - he's busy, we're busy.

[Doctor Flarb]

I'm sure I still have that Spitfire comic packed away somewhere...