I’ve been reading about this case regarding a guy in the UK making replica Stormtrooper helmets, against whom Lucasfilm had brought suite. The court has ruled in favor of the replicator.
http://www.originalprop.com/blog/2009/12/16/court-of-appeal-in-england-rules-in-favor-of-andrew-ainsworth-in-lucasfilms-star-wars-stormtrooper-helmet-copyright-legal-battle/
The ruling is there in PDF. I may be wrong, but what i see this saying is that as long as the product is an original sculpt and isn’t an exact copy, copyright falls to the sculptor.
In a nutshell: you design it, you own it. That would mean that our mask makers, or at least the ones in the UK, are in the clear.
To look one step farther, might this also mean there is an opening for an accurate(or at least acceptable) mass produced Myers mask?
yeah that does sound promising for the mask makers over seas. although it did go on to say that if he sought any futher sales in the U.S it would breach copywrite laws. i think the whole ordeal with the storm trooper helmets and trancas and indy myers masks is just b.s to me. its seems these companies dont want you to have authentic looking merchandise from their fims. they will mass produce some version thats only fitting for a child to wear on Halloween then when they see an artist that has created a high quality replicated peice they cant stand it. but im glad to hear the court was in the artists favor.
I’m so sick of these Companies worrying about these Indie Artists and their interpretation of the filmakers work! They ( TRANCAS & Whoever ) made their money off of the film, Now shut the Hell up and drive on! They wanna brag about how they made this “Cult” film but they don’t wanna deal with who made the film what is was…The Fans! This is starting to head in the same direction as Napster.