OfflineI make a comic at http://www.actionsteve.com/
It's based on a blog I did: http://actionsteveadventures.blogspot.com/
The license for the work is cc-by-sa, which means that anyone can make a derivative work, or sell my work, without my permission, so long as they give credit to me and the other folks, credited here http://www.actionsteve.com/credits.html , that helped me make the comic. This is an experiment. Can you make a financially successful series, as a collaboration with fans? If the fan fiction from a world is just as legitamate, and the author's have just as much right to profit from that fan fiction as I do from my work, could I still make money?
I offered people I knew at a previous job, many of whom I am no longer in contact with since I left, the chance for me to use their likeness as characters and several took me up on it. Many people helped with story and character ideas, I credited everybody who helped, but not everyone who just said, in effect: "Oh I want to be character! Just come up with something for me alright?" People whose likeness I used but who didn't contribute to their character's bio or any other part of the story.
But now that I'm doing more work on the comic I've had a worrying thought.
What if I start to make money on this thing and then someone sues me and says: "Hey wait! I didn't give you permission to use my likeness!" I've never asked anyone to sign anything. Am I at risk here?
I'll give you a couple of examples:
A co-worker wanted to be a super hero in my blog. He wanted to be Action Pre. He gave me a detailed character bio and gave me all kinds of story ideas, which I used. I encouraged him to make a companion blog "The Adventures of Action Pre", with the same cc-by-sa license, he was enthusiastic about the idea, but it never got off the ground. Although he's moved away, we have exchanged a few emails over the past year or so.
Another co-worker, Carmen, told me a few basic character ideas for Karma, a super villain in her likeness who controlled the forces of luck. I kept promsing to put her character in the blog but never did. I've not had any more contact with her but I'm about to put her in a new story in the comic.
So, what if, months or years down the road, one or more of the people whose likeness I've used, try to sue me? They have every right to use those characters in a cc-by-sa licensed work. They can make a book of my comics, just like anyone else can, and sell it themselves, but is that enough protection?
Print Me!
The commercial exploitation of the name or likeness of a living individual can raise legal issues that are distinct from the copyright status of the work in which the likeness is used. Most if not all states recognize a cause of action for the unauthorized exploitation of the commercial value of another's likeness; some states have statutes that require you to obtain the written authorization of an individual to use their likeness (even in the form of a portrait or caricature).
However, the creative use of a name or likeness in a transformative manner (i.e., where you add some substantial creative element over and above the mere depiction of the person) may be protected by state law or the First Amendment, and thus be exempt from the requirement of authorization. The specific parameters of which uses are creative and transformative enough to warrant this protection will either be defined by statute or on a case-by-case basis, depending on the jurisdiction.
For more information, check our Legal Guide.