[beekeeper]

My fantasy is to have a custom set of Chipcos with a Star Wars theme. If these are for private use and not for resale, can I use images of Darth Vader, R2D2, etc? I've read that Lucas does not give permission to anyone to use his images, so I know I can't do this the legal way.

[links_slayer]

Originally Posted by beekeeper

I've read that Lucas does not give permission to anyone to use his images, so I know I can't do this the legal way.

I'd just contact his "people" and see if they'll grant you permission for one-time, personal, not-for-profit use.

Similar questions have been asked and a possible problem is that, unless you print them yourself if you get permission, the company you get the chips from is "making money off his images."

Cool idea nonetheless!

[Buzzerbeater]

You're not going to get permission from Lucas Arts. You're probably going to have to look for a chip manufacturer that's willing to ignore the copyright or come up with another idea.

[FL70]

Ditto. Lucas doesn't give away squat for free.

Originally Posted by Buzzerbeater

You're not going to get permission from Lucas Arts. You're probably going to have to look for a chip manufacturer that's willing to ignore the copyright or come up with another idea.

[palmimports]

Lots of luck-

Weve found that the general concensus is: most of these companies dont care if someone is using their art for personal usage- they just cant be bothered-- weve done our homework on this and found that IF youre not running a business on Ebay or commercially marketing their products- basically they cant be bothered coming after you- assuming they EVEN know youre doing it.

I seriously doubt Chipco will run these--- gonna have to find someone else

[i run 8s]

Beekeeper, I'm not a lawyer nor do I wish to play one. We (our company) pays $345 an hour for our copyright / pattern attorney. I would think any attempt to comumicate with Lucas , his legal staff would not make it by the round file, at what attorneys charge for this kind of service.. The 2nd thing to consider is if you did make the chips, nobody is probablly going to come after you. The 3rd thing. If someone gets a hardon and does come after you, are you prepared for the ugly ending???? We run into minor infringments that we don't mess with, except a letter from the company.

Hope this helps
8's

Originally Posted by beekeeper

My fantasy is to have a custom set of Chipcos with a Star Wars theme. If these are for private use and not for resale, can I use images of Darth Vader, R2D2, etc? I've read that Lucas does not give permission to anyone to use his images, so I know I can't do this the legal way.

[jspearm1983]

Originally Posted by palmimports

Lots of luck-

I seriously doubt Chipco will run these--- gonna have to find someone else

Hmmm... Who other than Chipco makes custom ceramics?

I would think if you find someone to do it, or if you do it yourself, your gonna be fine. If your not making money off of them, they aren't going to have much of a case for monetary damages. It's the same reason the IRS doesn't spend much time auditing poor people.

[palmimports]

Originally Posted by jspearm1983

Hmmm... Who other than Chipco makes custom ceramics?

I would think if you find someone to do it, or if you do it yourself, your gonna be fine. If your not making money off of them, they aren't going to have much of a case for monetary damages. It's the same reason the IRS doesn't spend much time auditing poor people.

Same thing with the Bellagio Tributes- they basically laughed and had such an attitude when we spoke with them-
So if we make a starwars set of chips for widgetmaster on CT and Lucas gets wind- they send me a letter and tell me not to make any more. Case closed.

Now- if I have china make 50,000 sets and theyre for sale all over the globe-- I got a problem-
but for one set for Mr John Doe- -- aint worried

[tomb1]

For your private personal use, you can use any image you want. That's "fair use" under the copyright law. But getting a business to print them for you . . . then that's the business's liability since they're putting the image into commercial use. But there are lots of small-time uses that go on all the time.

[plagueboy]

I would ask everyone to respect the creators rights instead of trying to justify it.

Wouldn't it be so much cooler if you actually wrote a letter and got written permission?

Also, personal use is not the same thing as fair use.

My 2 chips.