Having a woman who is a Cat

[jimbean]

CA
I am designing a logo for my business.

I am doing something with cats and as I am designing my logo, there is a woman dressed up as a cat.

Is this copyrighted by DC?

I am scared anytime you put cat ears on a womans head. She is a cat woman? or am I over thinking this

 

[justalayman]

it kind of depends on the rest of the art. Ears alone are not going to result in a violation of the law.

 

[Proserpina]

See also, Cats (the musical).

 

[jimbean]

it kind of depends on the rest of the art. Ears alone are not going to result in a violation of the law.

I am trying to upload a photo to the website but I can't.

I like that example of the musical cats

 

[quincy]

CA
I am designing a logo for my business.

I am doing something with cats and as I am designing my logo, there is a woman dressed up as a cat.

Is this copyrighted by DC?

I am scared anytime you put cat ears on a womans head. She is a cat woman? or am I over thinking this

IP owners can be pretty fussy about their rights.

Here is a link to an exchange of letters between Donald Snadek, attorney for Penguin Books, Ltd. and author David Thorne, over Thorne's use of a penguin on the cover of his book "I'll Go Home Then." According to Penguin Books, Thorne's penguin resembled too closely the Penguin Books logo. Although the letters are amusing, the threats by Penguin of a trademark infringement suit finally convinced David Thorne to change his book cover.
http://www.27bslash6.com/covers.html

Whether your woman dressed as a cat would cause your logo to attract a legal action is dependent in large part on how likely consumers would be to associate your logo with DC Comic's copyrighted Cat Woman.

 

[jimbean]

it kind of depends on the rest of the art. Ears alone are not going to result in a violation of the law.

best way to describe is woman wearing a mask with Cat ears.
(her eyelashes are the main focus of the logo)

She is in all black, it is a hand drawn image.

 

[quincy]

best way to describe is woman wearing a mask with Cat ears.
(her eyelashes are the main focus of the logo)

She is in all black, it is a hand drawn image.

A question to ask yourself is: If you had never seen DC Comic's Cat Woman, would you still have come up with the same image for your logo?

Is your business, its products or its services in some way connected with cats (or cat women)?

If you are borrowing heavily from the copyrighted image of Cat Woman, and you are thinking of using the image for your logo because it is already familiar to consumers as a comic book character, you are probably going to hear from a DC Comic's attorney.

You can have an IP attorney in your area personally review with you your logo drawing to get a better idea of the risk you would face in using your logo.

 

[justalayman]

Quincy's question of whether you would have come up with the design had you never seen Catwoman, another question to ask; when you look at your logo does it incite thoughts of Catwoman. If so it may be too close for comfort.

There are also cat women other than Catwoman in comics as well. Those other figures should be compared as well but the fact there are other cat women shows you that in itself a woman who dresses to emulate a cat is not in itself unique and there can be multiple cat women in harmony in coexistence.

 

[quincy]

... There are also cat women other than Catwoman in comics as well ...

There is Marvel's "Black Cat," for one.

What is interesting about Black Cat and Cat Woman is the lack of any infringement suit filed by either DC Comics or Marvel Comics against the other over similarities in the characters. DC Comics and Marvel Comics, although competitors in the comic book market, have created many comic characters that share enough substantial similarities that any other rights-holder might find reason to sue. DC Comics and Marvel have not only avoided litigation with each other, however, they have even cooperated in creating "cross-over" comics, where the characters owned by DC have appeared alongside those owned by Marvel.

But the ordinary person should not think that they can likewise avoid a lawsuit by copying the characters.

Following is a case that, while not exactly on point, has a good discussion of "stock" comic characters and those comic characters with original and creative characteristics enough to allow for copyright protection. Neil Gaiman and Miracles, LLC v. Todd McFarlance, et al (2004): http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-7th-circuit/1241893.html

 

[TigerD]

I'd also add: Even if you think you are righteous and your design is not based on and doesn't bring the viewer to see similarities with DC's Catwoman, can you afford to fight them?

TD

 

[quincy]

I'd also add: Even if you think you are righteous and your design is not based on and doesn't bring the viewer to see similarities with DC's Catwoman, can you afford to fight them?

TD

The many Stan Lee Media suits over copyright ownership in comic book characters show that, even when a case is ultimately dismissed, the time invested in a suit and the costs involved in getting the case to the point of dismissal, can be exorbitant (although Walt Disney has the financial resources to withstand court challenges that ordinary people just do not have). Another link that, like the previous case link, is not really on point but ... Stan Lee Media, Inc. v. The Walt Disney Company (2014): http://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/13/13-1407.pdf

Coming up with your own creative and ORIGINAL work will always be the smartest way to operate. The Court in another Neil Gaiman/Todd McFarlane copyright infringement suit from 2010 (http://files.neilgaiman.com/crabb_decision.pdf) said this, when addressing the similarities in Gaiman"s Dark Ages knight and McFarlane's knight named Spawn:

"If defendant really wanted to differentiate the new Hellspawn, why not make him a Portugese explorer in the 16th century; an officer of the Royal Navy in the 18th century, an idealistic recruit of Simon Bolivar in the 19th century, a companion of Odysseus on his voyages, a younger brother of Emperor Nakamido in the early 18th century, a Spanish conquistador, an aristocrat in the Qing dynasty, an American Indian warrior or a member of the court of Queen Elizabeth? It seems far more than coincidence that Dark Ages (McFarland) Spawn is a knight from the 16th century as Medieval (Gaiman) Spawn."

The bottom line is that the rights in comic book characters are valuable and one is best advised not to mess with them.

 

[jimbean]

I would like to say that you guys are amazing #1!

You have given me so much to think about. Now also seeing this marvels black cat upsets me even more because my drawing could be considered a cross between the two.

My business has absolutely nothing to do with DC or Marvel.

I don't know if this is a stupid question, but would I be able to ask them if I could use cat woman in my logo if I paid them something?
Then I would just use a version of cat woman specifically.

 

[quincy]

I would like to say that you guys are amazing #1!

You have given me so much to think about. Now also seeing this marvels black cat upsets me even more because my drawing could be considered a cross between the two.

My business has absolutely nothing to do with DC or Marvel.

I don't know if this is a stupid question, but would I be able to ask them if I could use cat woman in my logo if I paid them something?
Then I would just use a version of cat woman specifically.

Trying to license the rights to use a copyrighted work from the copyright holder is always an option - but, when the copyrighted work or a trademark is a famous one, you will generally find that obtaining a license is either extremely expensive or a license is denied.

That said, it is certainly better to approach the copyright holder with such a request than to use their work without authorization.

From what you have described of your logo, I think it might be smarter for you to scratch the cat woman idea and go in a different direction, but a personal review of your logo sketches by an IP attorney in your area can provide you with a better idea of your risks in going ahead with a cat woman as an identifier for your company.

Good luck, jimbean.