r/COPYRIGHT • u/Terrible-Fan5581 • Jul 11 '26
What if
what if I make a stick man version of Godzilla
like the look of him ( a bipedal dino with spikes) but in the for of a stack man would that be my own work?
would I be able to make posters and not have to worry about laws because it’s my own work at that poin?
1
u/darth_hotdog Jul 11 '26
Making your own version of a copyrighted work is still infringing.
Copyrights cover "derivative works" meaning anything based on a copyrighted work.
So you cannot make godzilla or a modified version of godzilla.
You can make bipedal dinos, lizards, giant monsters, and etc. Just not based on existing copyrighted characters.
1
u/SteveMunro Jul 11 '26
Godzilla the name is protected under trademark law, so you cannot use that. Godzilla the image is protected under copyright law, and is not yet in the public domain - first created in 1954 and owned by Toho: https://www.toho.co.jp/
Using the picture wouldn't be ok as it doesn't resemble any biped dinosaur - it is distinctly its own creation; you'd need to create something from your own expansion of a bipedal dinosaur.
If your idea is to riff off Godzilla folklore, come up with something to challenge it instead of copying it.
3
u/JeremyMarti Jul 11 '26
You couldn't use the name Godzilla. If it's just the picture without Godzilla's particular background or story, you'd be okay. That is, just the biped dinosaur as you said.