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My name is Christopher, and I was thinking about developing a cartoon series in the future. I have been slowly developing this series for 3 years and have created some really cool characters. Despite the fact that I think my characters are unique, people keep comparing one of my characters to one that is on TV already. My character: http://h-voltage.deviantart.com/gallery/#/art/Wire-The-Lightning-Mutant-277506111?_sid=1a90bb59 A character published by DC comics: http://www.cosplayhouse.com/images/D/Static-Shock-Static-Cosplay-Costume-Version-01-image.jpg If I pursue trying to make this into a TV show, would I face legal matters in terms of copyright? I am just wondering because people keep comparing the two characters. Thank you for your time, Christopher
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Intellectual Property Attorney serving Manchester, NH
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Hi Christopher,
You need to ask why they are making the comparison. There is a concept in copyrights called 'scenes a faire' (look it up in wikipedia). The idea is that there are a limited number of story details and utilizing a similar combination of generic details does not amount to copyright infringement. Captain Marvel or Hyperion do not infringe DC Comic's Superman. Moon Knight does not infringe on Batman. Cheetah/Tigra. Mr. Fantastic/Plasticman. I haven't looked at your page, but if your character is black, a youth, and has an electricity-based power set, you are going to draw a comparison to Static and that doesn't make it copyright infringement. If there is more to it, you might want to develop a few differences because, ultimately, you want your character judged by how you develop him and not through comparisons to other characters.
Good luck,
Todd
Answered on Mar 04th, 2014 at 10:17 AM