# Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted characters?



## Lanyard (Oct 9, 2013)

I know there is a legal aspect involved, but I was curious as if any maker would do them at all or if it's something all refuse.

I don't know a lot about fursuit makers and was hoping to start saving money to commission my first suit within the next year or so, but the character is based on a race from a cartoon and so far I haven't found anyone willing to do that.


----------



## Misomie (Oct 9, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*

I think it's ok if it's based on a race rather than a particular character. 

Copyright law allows for people to make stuff with a 30% difference so as long as it's different enough from a copy-written character it should be fine.


----------



## Lanyard (Oct 9, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*

Thank you very much for the reply.

The race is very distinguishable, however. It'd be like having a suit made of a certain Pokemon. And mine isn't exactly the same, but only has a few things added on that doesn't change the structure of the character, so I'm pretty sure it's a lot less than 30%.

I would try to make it on my own, but I don't think I'd be able to achieve the quality I am hoping for (and I don't know how to sew, ouch).


----------



## LegitWaterfall (Oct 9, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*

It depends on the character.
Stuff like Courage the Cowardly Dog or something like that is just a big-ass no.


----------



## Keeroh (Oct 9, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*

Hmm, I've been curious about this too. There's a lot of MLP suits, but I think that may be because Hasbro is pretty lenient with their MLP fandom since they know it rakes in cash.


----------



## Lanyard (Oct 9, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*

I forgot about the MLP suits! I have seen those, but I wasn't sure if they were made as commissions or were made by the wearer themselves.

I am not looking for a suit of a well-known individual character (like Courage), but more like a Pokemon like I mentioned (they are all individually copyrighted but not star characters except maybe Pikachu. What I am looking at commissioning isn't a star character but is copyrighted.)

Does anyone happen to know any makers that accept characters like this, or would it be better to go and ask makers individually? And an etiquette question: If they say "no copyrighted characters" in their FAQ, is it alright to ask them if there are any distinctions or exceptions? Or should I just leave those makers alone without bothering them?


----------



## Nashida (Oct 9, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*

I'd imagine if a maker states on their pages "no copyrighted characters" that would probably also mean no exceptions, but you never know.


----------



## Jashwa (Oct 9, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*

What race are you thinking about? If you give people more details, then they'll be able to better help you.


----------



## Lanyard (Oct 9, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*



Jashwa said:


> What race are you thinking about? If you give people more details, then they'll be able to better help you.



Sorry for not being specific, I was just poking around for information.

My character is a Gazimon from Digimon, and the only changes aren't really significant just accessories really.


----------



## Willow (Oct 9, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*

It should be fine so long as you yourself aren't trying to make a profit off of using their characters for anything.

But it still doesn't hurt to check with the maker because they all feel differently about it.


----------



## Connor J. Coyote (Oct 9, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*

it depends on the maker... some do, some don't...


----------



## Dokid (Oct 15, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*

I've seen a lot of stylized pokemon ones. Especially pikachu ones. 

Canine Hybrid also made a ton of other pokemon ones as well.


----------



## jorinda (Oct 16, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*



Keeroh said:


> Hmm, I've been curious about this too. There's a lot of MLP suits, but I think that may be because Hasbro is pretty lenient with their MLP fandom since they know it rakes in cash.



Hasbro actually encourages people to make cosplays and fan stuff like plushies of MLP. They want to use the internet hype to keep MLP popular.

Other companies want to keep all rights to sell merchandise. I think Pokemon and Digimon are a bit more difficult - a suit maker would risk being sued. That's why most won't even think about making similar characters.


----------



## Taralack (Oct 16, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*

I would say an anthro Gazimon is different enough from the original for you to be safe... but I'm not sure if that's what you're actually doing.


----------



## Fibriel Solaer (Oct 17, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*



Misomie said:


> I think it's ok if it's based on a race rather than a particular character.
> 
> Copyright law allows for people to make stuff with a 30% difference so as long as it's different enough from a copy-written character it should be fine.


I'm sorry to say you really, really need to brush up on your copyright law as both of those things are grossly incorrect.

"Character" is not a category of copyrightable work, but "visual design" is, and characters and "races" will be treated identically - they're visual designs. Their personalities or other non-tangible concepts are NOT protected by copyright, but their appearances are. Gazimon is under exactly the same protection it would be if it was an individual character and not a species - it makes absolutely no difference.

Copyright law has no 30% rule, or any other percentile or portion rule. How exactly would you enumerate how different something is from something else in a way convincing to a court of law?

Your only defense when accused of copyright infringement is _fair use_ which falls under the following criteria (this is U.S. law so other countries may differ):



			
				17 U.S.C. Â§ 107 said:
			
		

> Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17 U.S.C.Â§ 106 and 17 U.S.C. Â§ 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:
> 
> the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
> the nature of the copyrighted work;
> ...



Translation:
1. Making money is bad, using it in school is good.
2. It depends what the original work was (for example music artists get a lot of leeway sampling from previous songs.)
3. It's important how much you've sampled and how much is original work you've done yourself.
4. It's important how much the original author's profits are affected by your use of his or her work.

The 3rd criterion is the closest to the "30%" rule but it doesn't specify any particular portion to qualify as fair use - all of this must be reviewed personally by the court and cannot be automated or simplified.



OP, the problem is accepting a commission - being paid to produce work that uses a visual design you do not own. The guy making the suit will be more likely to get away with it with the following practices:
- Avoiding the use of trademarks in your business dealings (the phrases "Digimon" and "Gazimon" are trademarks.) Companies are _forced_ to counter a trademark infringement or else they risk losing their trademark. Enforcing their copyright however is entirely optional as copyright can't be taken away.
- Charging as little as possible to cover the cost of labor and materials. In this way you can argue you are not charging for the visual design.

As long as no one is mass-producing, they're not likely to be seen as a financial threat to Toei. You should be safe, even if the law isn't squarely with you.





			
				jorinda said:
			
		

> Hasbro actually encourages people to make cosplays and fan stuff like plushies of MLP. They want to use the internet hype to keep MLP popular.



I'd like to know where you've gotten that idea. Hasbro doesn't encourage or discourage a thing. They are distancing themselves from bronies as much as possible with the sole exception of their wallets. Hasbro knows it is not to their benefit to keep their fans from expressing their adoration and outside of making cheap money they have a strict turn-the-other-way policy unless they are forced to shut down an infringement (which is often, due to bronies being woefully ignorant of intellectual property law.)


----------



## Connor J. Coyote (Oct 19, 2013)

*Re: Is it standard for fursuit makers to not take commissions for copyrighted charact*



Lanyard said:


> I know there is a legal aspect involved, but I was curious as if any maker would do them at all or if it's something all refuse.



No, not really. 

For the right price, I find that people's morals/hangups usually go right out the window -- once the cash is flashed.


----------

