Copyright...PLEASE HELP!

[Alvin]

OK...here is my story. Kind of funny...kind of NOT!

I have had some custom puppets made for me...and I use them just as Jim Henson...yada yada yada...performing, puppets shows...whatever. Well...I decided to make some T-shirts with my puppets on them. I used an online site...and got FLAGGED for mis-use of "copyrighted" material. I had to email them and tell them they were my puppets! I am sure they looked like Muppets and something from Sesame Street...but they are my OWN customized puppets made for me. they have finally UN-flagged them and let me use them now...but is there anyway i can copyright MY puppets to let people know they are mine, or make them legally mine? I know some copyright stuff....but how could I do this....or can I? Thanks

 

[Frogpuppeteer]

the copyright may have been in the way you described your items try staying away from the term muppets

 

[Alvin]

Thanks...I actually only used the word "Muppet" on one of them then changed it....and didn't on the others

Here is the link to my store...
http://www.cafepress.com/themoppetz

These are my puppets that I had made custom for me....

 

[TheCreatureWork]

?

You have to watch yourself here because your stuff is in the style of Henson. You can run into trademark infringement which is different. Even the t-shirt design with the image of your one characters face on the center of the t-shirt is much in the style of the Muppet shirts that are out there now. Disney owns the Muppets and have no end to $. Cafepress actually could care less as they are more of a middle man in this situation. I know you say it doesn't have the Muppets name ect. But even calling your puppets anything close to the name Muppets could be grounds for a lawsuit. One can argue that it is an original idea and that you designed the characters, logo, company name yourself but unless your last name is Moppetz it would be hard to prove originality in a court of law. We have argued on this forum before about "in the style of"... And many people here agree with you.
But my personal stand in the matter is that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
Anyway, my opinion doesn't really matter anyway. It's what Disney thinks in this case.
Here's some info to make clear about copyright laws:
http://www.medialawyer.com/lec-copy.htm

 

[Frogpuppeteer]

after seeing the logo i think what creaturework said is prob the example of what really happened...its a nice logo but very muppetish

 

[aaronmojo]

Dude I think Disney would nail you, if they decided to come after you. Trademark and copyright both exist for a reason -- to protect intellectual property. In this case, I think someone might reasonably confuse your "Moppetz" with the "Muppets," especially since the logo looks very similar and the art on the shirts looks very Muppet-esque. Plus, let's be honest, "Moppetz" is about as close to "Muppets" as you can get.

I'd tread lightly if I were you... Or, come up with your own thing, completely divorced from the Muppets. A different name and a completely different logo.

 

[Was Once Ernie]

Dude I think Disney would nail you, if they decided to come after you. Trademark and copyright both exist for a reason -- to protect intellectual property. In this case, I think someone might reasonably confuse your "Moppetz" with the "Muppets," especially since the logo looks very similar and the art on the shirts looks very Muppet-esque. Plus, let's be honest, "Moppetz" is about as close to "Muppets" as you can get.

I'd tread lightly if I were you... Or, come up with your own thing, completely divorced from the Muppets. A different name and a completely different logo.

I have to agree with aaronmojo on this. You're on very thin legal ice. For instance, you have a blue furry monster with a long nose and bushy eyebrows named "Harry" that looks so close to Sesame Street's Herry Monster that, at the least, they could be mistaken for brothers, if not fraternal twins.

It's not just a simple question of big-mouth hand puppets... everybody does those these days, but your name, logo and the look of your puppets is just too close for comfort, in my opinion.

 

[crazy chris]

i commend your savvy .... but as has been stated above...im not even sure why you would tread this line so closely?... theres a million other roads to travel to come up with something atleast remotely original.... i just think your doing yourself and the future of your brand a disservice by going this route...

if a restaurant opened named mkdonilds ...would they ever be taken seriously...even if their product was BETTER than mcdonalds?...they would live with that stigma

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[Alvin]

Well as much as this has been enlightening...and DISCOURAGING...the only reason I chose The Moppetz...had NOTHING to do with the word Muppets...as much as Moppetz sounds like Muppets.

My original character "Alvin" is an old classic MOPKIN puppet.

I took the first 3 letters MOP...the last 3 letters of the word Puppet....PET and added a Z. If I had to stand before a judge I would tell him just that. I wan not meaning to overstep any boundaries. I would say I am a puppeteer just wanting to make a mark on the world just like Jim Henson did.

It HAD NOTHING TO DO with the Muppets. My puppets are MUPPET-ish...yes....aren't half the puppeteers on here? I never meant to "cross" any legal grounds...I am just a puppeteer trying to do what I absolutely love to do...make people smile and laugh. I have been doing puppetry for over 20 years...underground...and now that I have stepped out of my box and into the "local eye" it has gotten even more fun and it has been a blast! People know what to expect from me. I still wanna do videos and put em on YouTube..and just be in the "club" of puppeteers on here and join in on the learning and the fun. I'm just a part of the dreamers and the visionaries wanting to do the next big thing...can't condemn me for at least trying.

 

[crazy chris]

i definately respect your passion and zeal alvin!... and i dont think anyone is condemning you... i just think the logical choice would have been to shy away from the obvious comparison that will always be made between your brand name...and the biggest puppet brand name on the planet...

its like marrying a dwarf with a rainbow wig riding a shetland pony and then taunting onlookers by screaming "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?.."

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