Differences between 'copyright' and 'trademark' when doing parodies.

[Naruzeldamaster]

Discussion in a different thread has lead to this one because it got me curious.
In my mind, I FEEL like I understand how far you could push it before parody becomes 'copyright infringement' but I dunno for sure.
Most of my parodies aren't the 'imitate the actual thing 100%' kind of parody, they tend to be a little more original than that. Still kind of curious about the 'science' behind a good parody that doesn't infringe copyright or trademark.

One element of one of my stories is a parody of Chateau Romani item from Zelda (we've already discussed it) but with feedback from you guys I decided to change it to be a 'likeness' than a 100% clone. It's (currently) still called just Chateau, but only until I think of a better name for it. I've changed the item to be dragon milk (Sounds gross but hey, star wars has blue and green milk) fermented in dragon's breath. The stuff is so alcoholic that one cup of the stuff would put most Amateure drinkers under the table. Very few people among alcoholics can drink more than one cup in a single day.

 

[pmmg]

I'm gonna take a stab at this...

Copyright just means my unusual combination and ordering of words is mine. So...I can write about elves and dragons and dwarves, and so long as I do not copy word from word from Tolkien (and some others), I am safe from copyright infringement.

Trademark is different. If Tolkien had trademarked his term of 'Hobbits', I simply could not use them without violating his trademark. I could/would be subject to a lawsuit over it, if he cared enough to pursue it. Trademarks are very specific. Superman's S for instance, is trademarked, you can't use it. But not every variation of an S is trademarked. So, you could parody something with something suggestive of the S, and avoid some degree of trouble.

Trademark is also expensive. If I wanted to trademark elements of my book, such as every unique name, I would have to get a trademark for each one. That would eat up all my funds real fast.

I dont think it matters if it is a parody. You just may not get pursued, as the trademark holders may find it in poor taste to do so.

Edit...I would suspect though, that those shows that do a lot of parody, like the Simpsons and the Family Guy, get written permission beforehand.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I'm gonna take a stab at this...

Copyright just means my unusual combination and ordering of words is mine. So...I can write about elves and dragons and dwarves, and so long as I do not copy word from word from Tolkien (and some other), I am safe from copyright infringement.

Trademark is different. If Tolkien had trademarked his term of 'Hobbits', I simply could not use them without violating his trademark. I could/would be subject to a lawsuit over it, if he cared enough to pursue it. Trademarks are very specific. Superman's S for instance, is trademarked, you can't use it. But not every variation of an S is trademarked. So, you could parody something with something suggestive of the S, and avoid some degree of trouble.

Trademark is also expensive. If I wanted to trademark elements of my book, such as every unique name, I would have to get a trademark for each one. That would eat up all my funds real fast.

I dont think it matters if it is a parody. You just may not get pursued, as the trademark holds may find it in poor taste to do so.

I think I understand, though I'd personally still be wary of making the parody too close to the original thing. If I can, I'd probably like to avoid failing the 'squint test' in case the person I was parodying got a little uppity. Not that any parody I make would be offensive to the original material (At worst, self aware jabs) but still. I'd rather make the parody obvious enough, but not a direct clone. Like how Space Balls is clearly making fun of star wars, but it's mostly it's own thing, and the only character that looks remotely like the actual star wars cast is the female robot lady who's a parody of C3PO

As I've said in another thread somewhere, there's this game called Pal World, you travel a continent trapping various monsters and befriending them by capturing them in balls, sound familiar? Seems to be a huge issue with Nintendo/Gamefreak, because they're sending their ninjas after the game from every angle they can. They keep losing the fight, regardless of how they attack Pal World, because the two games are only similar on a conceptual level.

Granted there's a few pals that miiiiight fail the squint test, but the infringement part of the case never gets that far. And even if it did, I feel like the court would simply ask them to alter/change those designs so they aren't so close to Pokemon.

 

[pmmg]

I made an edit to the above, but I'll say here...You could get express written permission before starting.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I made an edit to the above, but I'll say here...You could get express written permission before starting.

That's a fair point, though the problem then becomes how to convince them to give me written permission lol
I have a Mc Guffin in Hound and Fox that's a parody of the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic The Hedgehog, but they're functionally different items in my story and the only thing similar is the name (Emeralds of Chaos) and the fact that there's Seven of them.

 

[pmmg]

Just ask, maybe convincing if not necessary. Probably they will just ignore you, as you are too small to make their radar screen. Least, at present.

 

[Mad Swede]

Discussion in a different thread has lead to this one because it got me curious.
In my mind, I FEEL like I understand how far you could push it before parody becomes 'copyright infringement' but I dunno for sure.
Most of my parodies aren't the 'imitate the actual thing 100%' kind of parody, they tend to be a little more original than that. Still kind of curious about the 'science' behind a good parody that doesn't infringe copyright or trademark.

One element of one of my stories is a parody of Chateau Romani item from Zelda (we've already discussed it) but with feedback from you guys I decided to change it to be a 'likeness' than a 100% clone. It's (currently) still called just Chateau, but only until I think of a better name for it. I've changed the item to be dragon milk (Sounds gross but hey, star wars has blue and green milk) fermented in dragon's breath. The stuff is so alcoholic that one cup of the stuff would put most Amateure drinkers under the table. Very few people among alcoholics can drink more than one cup in a single day.

The answer to your question depends on which country you are talking about. The US allows a broader interpretation of parody than is the case in say the UK and Sweden.

In countries which recognise moral rights in written works (which the US does not) parody is en exception to copyright law, not an automatic right. See the following link for an explanation of how this is interpreted in the UK and Europe:

Not always a laughing matter: Using parody as a defence to copyright infringement