Legal question regarding the sale of trademark action figures.

Jacob Mansfield

I am currently working on a Wolverine model. I thought about making molds and casts of the figure to sell online but thought I better hold off on moving forward with this before I get some legal advice.

My question is this: 

Can I sell my own artwork online if it is a "Wolverine" character or any other well know figure? 

Chris Ellerby

Selling works depicting trademarked characters or other intellectual property is not legal.  Should the Marvel or Disney legal teams discover an artist selling work containing characters/IP they are charged with protecting, they would likely send a cease and desist letter, and/or threaten litigation. 

That said, there are "Fair Use" and "Parody Law" protections for some situations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use
http://borgus.com/legal.htm

Art can be covered by freedom of speech, but once you start selling it things get complicated fast.

My suggestion is to spend a few bucks and contact an Intellectual Property lawyer and have them review the particulars of your situation.  But chances are good that there is no legal precedent to protect you.

Even if your artwork falls under fair use or parody law protection there is nothing to stop Marvel or Disney from sending you a C&D or taking you to court.  They bank on the legal expenses and time commitment to defend your claim being too great for you to afford, and ultimately they would try to get you to stop producing the works on your own to avoid said expenses.

That said, I'm not a lawyer and have limited experience in the world of IP law (form protecting my own works or working with licensing) and am entirely unqualified to provide any real legal advice.  I strongly suggest finding a good IP lawyer, especially if you plan to sell art.  Not only to insure that you are not breaking any laws, but they can help you protect your own work as well.

Back when I worked for Disney I took part in a legal disposition where a team of 6 Disney lawyers prepped me for several days.  They take legal matters quite seriously.  And yes, being stuck in a room with 6 lawyers for 2 days is exactly as much found as it sounds.

Best of luck!

/Chris

Jacob Mansfield

Excellent advice Chris, thank you for your help and direction. It sounds like you have experienced the headaches of this type of situation before and I really appreciate your help! It's still early enough for me to change the direction of my character before I start molding, so I'll just have to make up my own designs. I'm completely cool with that but it's always good to know the laws before diving into the deep-end. Thanks again!

Jake