Question about building a replica of a ship from a sci-fi franchise

[Veraqu]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Nevada

I am interested in building a large scale replica of a space ship from a sci-fi TV show that is no longer on the air, but owned by FOX broadcasting.

My hope would be to fund the project through a crowdfunded project like Kickstarter, and then have the ship on display to people for free, with ongoing operational costs funded through sales of gift store items (officially licensed items through wholesale distributors) and sale of food/coffee in a small shop on the same site.

My question: How can I go about setting it up/doing a project of this type without infringing on a copyright on the design of the ship?

I have tried to find a contact for someone in FOX who start a process to get official permission to build a fully crowdfunded, Fan project like this, but I can not find anyone to talk to at FOX. If I could, I would have no problem giving them a cut of admission tickets, but if I just make it open to the public (on a first come first serve basis) would that be legal?

Thanks!

 

[xylene]

You need permission of the rights owner of the show to do this.

Nothing about crowdsourcing the funding makes it less likely to be instantly shut down.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Nevada

I am interested in building a large scale replica of a space ship from a sci-fi TV show that is no longer on the air, but owned by FOX broadcasting.

My hope would be to fund the project through a crowdfunded project like Kickstarter, and then have the ship on display to people for free, with ongoing operational costs funded through sales of gift store items (officially licensed items through wholesale distributors) and sale of food/coffee in a small shop on the same site.

My question: How can I go about setting it up/doing a project of this type without infringing on a copyright on the design of the ship?

I have tried to find a contact for someone in FOX who start a process to get official permission to build a fully crowdfunded, Fan project like this, but I can not find anyone to talk to at FOX. If I could, I would have no problem giving them a cut of admission tickets, but if I just make it open to the public (on a first come first serve basis) would that be legal?

Thanks!

I agree with xylene that you will need to seek permission from the holder of the rights. There may be both trademark and copyright licenses to acquire.

There were a few recent cases over the creation of replicas made from fictional works. If I locate them, I will post back.

 

[single317dad]

For Fox properties, I would start here;

Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising
P.O. Box 900
Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900
tel: 310-369-1000 (main switchboard)

Fox has many divisions and this may not be the right one for your particular question, but it's a good start.

There are several for-profit companies that can help you track down the owner of and license entertainment IP. I will not recommend any specific one but they are easily discovered via a web search.

 

[adjusterjack]

My question: How can I go about setting it up/doing a project of this type without infringing on a copyright on the design of the ship?

I have tried to find a contact for someone in FOX who start a process to get official permission to build a fully crowdfunded, Fan project like this, but I can not find anyone to talk to at FOX. If I could, I would have no problem giving them a cut of admission tickets, but if I just make it open to the public (on a first come first serve basis) would that be legal?

Agree with the others. You'll need consent. You'll probably have to purchase a license.

If you can't figure out how to get to the proper people at Fox consult an intellectual property attorney that does know how.

 

[quincy]

There was 2013s DC Comics v. Towle over Batmobile replicas. Here is a link to information: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=abb407be-1f45-45e9-bdf4-a-479d94c4400

And there was a lawsuit over the unauthorized creation of a Hogwarts school.

And there are others. Case names and links will follow.

 

[FlyingRon]

Believe me "not currently on the air" means little. There is still people making money off some old Sci-Fi shows that have been off the air for decades that are still making money in syndication, DVD sales, and merchandise (I've got a nice little collection of stuff from the old UFO TV show. More famously the 1968 The Prisoner stuff is still making money as well). Things don't go into the public domain just because the show is cancelled.

Note you need to make sure it is actually Fox who owns the rights. Just because it was a show that appeared on the Fox network, it doesn't mean they own it.

 

[quincy]

Following is a link to Ideal Toy Corp v. Kenner Products, et al, 443 F.Supp. 291 (1977), a case that arose over Star Wars characters.

Although not exactly a case of replicas, the Court looked at (among other things in the case) the similarities between 20th-Century Fox and Kenner's Darth Vadar, C-3PO and R2-D2, and Ideal's Knight of Darkness, Zem-21, and Zeroid.

http://www.leagle.com/decision/1977734443FSupp291_1680/IDEAL TOY CORP. v. JENNER PRODUCTS, ETC.

For replicas, there was the suit Luxo AS v. Walt Disney Co., 09-cv-7689, filed in the Southern District of New York's US District Court in 2009, over the appearance of "Luxo Jr." in a Pixar film, and the subsequent selling by Disney of Luxo Jr lamps resembling the swivel Luxo-brand lamps, and the creation of an animatronic Luxo Jr. figure in Walt Disney World. The case was eventually settled.

And most suits will settle, so final costs to the parties in a case are often not known. But it would not be wrong to say that, when you try to do battle with a large company, you generally will need to have a lot of money available to finance the battle - and you should be prepared to lose it all.