[GothicGeek]

There was a recent legal case against a certain Mark Towle and DC Comics in reference to the Batmobile. It was decided that DC Comics owns the design of the Batmobile. Just wondering how this precedent could now cause problems with Ectos.

The main difference I see in this is that he was making them and selling them while we build them for personal or non-profit use.

http://deadline.com/2015/09/batmobile-d ... 201545884/
http://www.blastr.com/2015-9-23/dc-comi ... -batmobile

[TK5759]

I'd only see an issue if someone's building them and selling them to the public for profit. It's very similar to the 501st's relationship with Disney. As long as we remain a non-profit, they turn a blind eye to those who make armor for the community as long as they're not making a huge profit off one of their likenesses. This is why Andrew Ainsworth is prohibited from selling his stormtrooper armor in the US: http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=167299

[LandoSystem]

Yeah, they may only have a problem if anyone is selling them for huge prices without permission. But make no mistake, anyone who wears the Ghostbusters costume or has a proton pack or any canon gear without direct permission from Sony can be sent a C & D regardless of what they're doing with it.

This is something I've recently ran into with another Star Wars costuming group. People often say, "I built my costume and I can do whatever I want and nobody can tell me otherwise!" Nope. Sony (or in their case, Disney) owns the image and we exist at their whim.

Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't taken action against individuals and franchises who have been openly bashing the reboot. Especially the guy who sends the cast and crew death threats on twitter and says, "I wear this costume for charity all the time" in the same tweet.

[TK5759]

Yeah, they may only have a problem if anyone is selling them for huge prices without permission. But make no mistake, anyone who wears the Ghostbusters costume or has a proton pack or any canon gear without direct permission from Sony can be sent a C & D regardless of what they're doing with it.

This is something I've recently ran into with another Star Wars costuming group. People often say, "I built my costume and I can do whatever I want and nobody can tell me otherwise!" Nope. Sony (or in their case, Disney) owns the image and we exist at their whim.

Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't taken action against individuals and franchises who have been openly bashing the reboot. Especially the guy who sends the cast and crew death threats on twitter and says, "I wear this costume for charity all the time" in the same tweet.

100% correct Lando. I've been in the Legion for over 5 years and recall a lot of grumbling over the Disney acquisition like they're going to disband the Legion or something. There may be some bad apples in any fan group but look at the whole of what we do and the positive PR we bring to the Star Wars franchise. It's free advertising, so whether it's positive or negative, I highly doubt any Star Wars fan groups will receive a C&D. If a GB group was to do something similar, like form a 501(c)3, I'm willing to bet that Sony would follow in Disney/Lucasfilm's footsteps and embrace it.

[LandoSystem]

I was a part of a Star Wars costuming club called the Outer Rim Brigade a few years back. We focused on custom and canon bounty hunters and smugglers. We earned Lucasfilm approval but got a C&D after about 6 months.

There have also been a lot of rumblings in the clubs about Lucasfilm tightening what we can and can't do. Disney doesn't want businesses using Star Wars characters for any sort of promotion. So if a comic shop or a toy store wants you to troop a grand opening or a Star Wars sale, you cant go. They've also banned pictures of Star Wars characters in front of company or sports team logos.
So when members started saying, "It's my costume and if I want to wear it to the opening of my friends comic shop, I'm going to do it!" Disney gave out a resounding, "Nope."

[TK5759]

I was a part of a Star Wars costuming club called the Outer Rim Brigade a few years back. We focused on custom and canon bounty hunters and smugglers. We earned Lucasfilm approval but got a C&D after about 6 months.

There have also been a lot of rumblings in the clubs about Lucasfilm tightening what we can and can't do. Disney doesn't want businesses using Star Wars characters for any sort of promotion. So if a comic shop or a toy store wants you to troop a grand opening or a Star Wars sale, you cant go. They've also banned pictures of Star Wars characters in front of company or sports team logos.
So when members started saying, "It's my costume and if I want to wear it to the opening of my friends comic shop, I'm going to do it!" Disney gave out a resounding, "Nope."

Those reigns have been loosened as of late. TRU and WalMart were given permission to have us appear on Force Friday. A lot of the recent prohibition is because Disney wants to create a huge buildup to Episode 7.
Yeah, we've lost a few members because of it, but they weren't able to see the long-term big picture and chose to call it quits. It's really a large grey area; we've had some lawyers chime in but they weren't able to offer much advice.

[Some_Guy]

Frankly I'm surprised Sony hasn't slapped that one group from the Carolinas with a C&D yet, the group who rents out their Ecto (though they say a portion of it goes to Charity...That's still not right if you ask me). If I'm not mistaken a group in Florida got C&D'd right? I don't remember the circumstances, it was years ago.

[Azevedo]

No group can incorporate as a non-profit using copyrighted images or trademarks without explicit permission. I'm not aware of any 501(c)(3) that has been able to register as "Ghostbusters". Any franchise or Ecto is subject to a C&D. Someone correct me if I am wrong here.

[TK5759]

The 501st attained their 501(c)(3) within the last two years. I'm fuzzy on the exact details bit I believe it was right around the Disney acquisition.

[montclaire]

There has always been a tight hold on the Batmobile. In the 60s they went so far as to confiscate cars, I believe Barris even completed one and it was used for promotion? Nothing new on the batman front.

[Fifthrider]

This issue seems to be as selectively enforced as the blue lights issue, meaning sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. In fact I can't recall the last time I've heard of Sony enforcing it, sans one issue from like 15-20 years ago in Illinois. ( I doubt I even retained the details of that one, it's too old to worry about. )

The last time I talked to anyone at Sony about it was from 05/04/15 to 05/06/14. The correspondence was mostly on the phone with a couple of e-mails just to assure I had something in writing. The only name I have a record of was Bobbie Benson who I believe was the admin/office manager for the Legal dept, although I had been on the phone with the VP of Sony Legal and damned if I kept any record of her name. It doesn't matter, I got my answers from Bobbie.

On the phone it came down to "only do charity events" but there was no "or else" that followed that sentence. They didn't want to commit to saying it was okay. Looking at it from their point of view, if the answer is "No, we'll sue you" you'd think they would say "No, we'll sue you." If the answer is "Sure, go for it" they would never say that. The answer would be more akin to "we can neither confirm nor deny that we condone anything." After 2 different phone conversations I received a response which said that Legal didn't even want to deal with this; they deferred to a different department.


From: "Benson, Bobbie"
To: "fifthrider@yahoo.com"
Sent: Tuesday, May 6, 2014 11:56 AM
Subject: Need advice about private ownership of car with Sony copyright likeness

Hi Mr. Fear:
I’ve discussed your email with the Executive Director of Content Licensing and she suggested you contact a legal professional. We’re not able to assist you.

Thanks very much.


Okay, great, so this tells me nothing. I contacted my attorney who lives on a small island in Savannah, GA and is currently #3 on the Xbox leaderboards for his state. He put down the controller long enough to pick up the phone, chug a beer and tell me "You go for it!" ergo legal consultation occurred and permission was obtained. ( Not making that up, I almost wished I were. )

Really, what it comes down to is this. ( Applies largely to both the blue light issue and using a car with copyrighted issues. ) If you mind your business, play it kind of humble, keep your head down and don't shake your ass defiantly at everyone, you can probably do quite a lot. On the other hand if your ego is bigger than your brain and you're proud of how many times you've poked the bear without having it blow up in your face, karma will hunt you every day of your life. In may case I've ran blue lights with no covers and had no ( minimal ) issues, and never been issued a C&D by Sony. ...despite that one time last 08/31/15 when I bluffed my way onto the Sony lot driving my Ecto.

Since this was shot down by the (then) Executive Director of Content Licensing, this may be the person for any future consultations to be directed at. According to the interwebs the current Director since 06/2014 is a guy named Jason Lambert. I've never had any contact with him.


If you rent out your replica of a licensed movie car you are taking a chance each and every time. With each management change at Sony you get different people who enforce different priorities. The best way to not get shot is not to stand downrange.