Fair Competition piece, copyright infringement?

[Andrew Gibson]

OK I thought I would ask this here as it is directly related to a project I have completed.
Some of you may remember my Hello Kitty rocker. I am planning on entering that chair in the state fair. I don't expect to win but it only costs $2 so why not.
My problem is that Hello kitty, I would assume, is a copyrighted image.
the Chair was a gift so my money was made so I say no infringement has been... committed?

Not looking for definitive legal advise, just some opinions. do you think there may be legal ramifications for entering this piece in a public competition?

[Don Bullock]

First of all, that's a cute chair. I bet there is a little girl who loves it.

Many people think that only if money is made on a project that it affects copyright infringement. That isn't true. Anytime someone copies anything that is copyrighted it is an infringement of that copyright. Having said that I don't think it will affect the fair entry unless it's mentioned on the entry form. There is a remote risk, however, of having someone view your chair and relaying the information to the copyright holder. I know for example that Disney is very protective of their copyright images. They do take people to court. I have no knowledge about who holds the Hello Kitty image rights. no, I'm not an attorney nor a spokesperson for one. I did research on copyright as part of my Master's degree studies.

[Andrew Gibson]

Thanks Don for the quick response. My opinion is similar to yours. If I was taken to court I don't have anything for them to take accept for student loan dept and my tools. So If they want to take my fret saw so I can't do it again I guess I could live with that.

I am going to ask a couple lawyers I know what there opinions are.

[Charles Wiggins]

My problem is that Hello kitty, I would assume, is a copyrighted image. the Chair was a gift so my money was made so I say no infringement has been... committed?

Andrew,

As I've said before, whether you profit or not does not determine if there is an infringement. It just makes the possible penalties worse if you do profit. I am assuming that since you are asking the question you did not get permission from Sanrio before you copied, so only way this is NOT an infringement is IF it falls under "Fair Use." Fair Use is not cut and dry but the courts are much less favorable when the work that was copied was creative in nature and if any profit is made as a result of the copying. I think it would be an easy case to make that you were using Sanrio's image to try and "profit" because you entered the item in a contest. Even if the prize is not monetary, they could always go after the potential market exposure angle. (I'm not saying that's what you're doing, I'm just trying to think like a fire-breathing attorney.)

I cannot say for sure what would happen, maybe nothing, and I have no idea how litigious Sanrio is, but if they are anything like Disney you could be getting all sorts of cease and desist orders or a court summons if this thing makes the news. I tend to err on the cautious side, so personally, I wouldn't enter it. I would just keep it as a friendly personal gift, out of the limelight.

My 2 cents,
Charles

[Glenn Vaughn]

I have a feeling that Sanrio would come after you if they were to find out you were exhibiting the chair.

"Official" site for Hello Kitty
http://www.sanrio.com/

From their FAQ's:
Can I use your characters on my homepage?

Our characters are copyrighted and we cannot give permission to use them on personal homepages. We hope to provide artwork of that nature in the future.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

Tweak the image if it concerns you.

It's a CAT! Move the bow! Put some stripes on it. (the cat or the bow)

What are they going to do?

Say, "That's exactly like ours.... except different!"

[Gene Howe]

Your $2.00 entry fee may buy you much more in aggravation.

[Thomas Bank]

First question - did you imprint the fabric and paint the HK image on the chair yourself?

I'm actually assuming that the fabric was bought commercially. Is the image an applique (decal or otherwise)? If both the fabric and image were acquired commercially and then applied to the chair, I don't see any copyright infringement.

If you created the image on both the back of the chair and on the fabric, I can see some limited potential for an issue. But even there, if for personal use (built for a niece or friend's daughter or such) rather than commercial production I doubt that you are going to run into issues.

[Andrew Gibson]

Thanks for all the replies and the scenarios all.
I ran this buy a Lawyer friend this afternoon as well and he suggested that it would not be worth the trouble if something did arise. Therefore I think I am not going to inter the chair in the contest. maybe I will make another chair similar next year to inter, accept for the fact that I am burnt out on chairs right now I have time to make another before the fair, I just have to submit entry by the 13th.

Thomas the kitty in the headrest in Inlay, I found an image on Google and used it as a template so to speak. The fabric was purchased commercially.

[Larry Fox]

I am not a lawyer so I am gonna take a different stance on this one. I think the chair is really a nice piece that you should enter into the fair and stand next to it with pride. You are not trying to make money on it or sell a bunch of them. If someone wants to get upset about it and report you to whomever for using their image I say let them. What is their recourse for using the image? I have seen about a thousand really really bad Road Runner tattoos (for example) over the years and I don't think the copyright holder has come after them and want to talk about abuse of the image .....

[Brian Kent]

In the future, you could draw your own cat-face without the tilted red ribbon. Nobody owns a copyright on drawings of cat faces, just on that very particular style.

[Craig Michael]

I would enter it. This isn't a long term infringement such as using it as a store logo, etc. If you were to get a cease and desist letter (doubtful) then you don't enter it again, but you wouldn't anyways.

Lawyers are super risk averse, so asking that lawyer was a waste in that you know that's what they would say.

[Greg Dekeyser]

I think you're actually covered by "fair use"

the nature of the use you intend is not competing with the company or people who have rights to the image.

it's a one-off piece...not mass produced and intended for sale

and it's use would have no impact on the market of the original.

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

Not a lawyer...but I'm sure you're fine.

[Don Jarvie]

Enter it. Your not selling it nor giving it away. You enter it, win and go home. If someone asks if its for sale you say no, but you can make the "Hello Andy" chair with your own design.

I'm not a lawyer and slept in my own bed last night.

Hope you win.

[Pat Barry]

I would not enter this into a public competition. If its for your own personal use, that is something, but commercialized use like you are describing is copyright infringement. You can't safely make an altered copy either if it reminds everyone of hello kitty. That is just as much infringement of copywright as a direct copy.