Can I use store bought puppets in my show?
This is such an awesome question - as usual taken straight from a Google searcher that found my site - that I just had to write a response immediately.
Wow… where to start? Well, I guess the first place is:
Performance vs. making or selling
This question does not have anything to do with making or selling puppets that you’ve already bought. Yes, you can resell, just as you would old books or clothes; no, you can’t reproduce a design, build it yourself, and then sell it. This article deals only with using store bought puppets for and within performances.
Copyrights - performance and design
(Little known fact: copyrights are not something you have to go out and register. As soon as you make something, you own that copyright. No one else can use it - and make a profit from it - without your permission. As the copyright owner, you can assign the rights to someone else, or, you can legally and freely give up those rights if you so choose. Putting a copyright symbol on something does not make it copyright protected, since it is already yours to begin with; but it does deter others from stealing it)
There are two copyrights to consider here: performance and design. The former refers to the right of the copyright owner to have control over how, where, when, etc. their product/s appear on stage, in films and on TV. Generally speaking, royalties are paid if the copyright owner requires permission to use their product/s in a performance aspect.
The latter, design, refers to the right of the copyright owner to have control over how, where, when and who uses the design of said product (and this is why you can’t just make replicas). In respect to the question of using store bought puppets in your show, design and performance copyrights would normally be linked. Again, the main issue is royalties and whether or not you need permission from the maker. (See the last section, Creative Commons and profit shows for more info)
The puppet maker or manufacturer
Generally speaking, factory-made items (like Folkmanis puppets) will be sold with the understanding that you’re going to use them for performance of some sort. Whether it be in the home for your kids, or for a professional show, or on TV, I’m not aware of a specific manufacturer who holds a policy that their products can’t be used within a performance (although it definitely wouldn’t apply to official Kermit replicas on sale). Having said that it is best to check with the manufacturer if you’re unsure, because they may want to control how their product/s are used (ie. imagine someone making an ad using a Coke bottle to promote Pepsi - it would piss off Pepsi for sure… and probably Coke too). My understanding is that any large factory manufacturer of puppets will expect you to use their puppets in a performance context; in which case, they will give up their performance copyrights willingly (I tried finding info on one or two manufacturers’ sites, but there is no mention of performance copyrights. My guess is that no one ever asks and so they don’t provide the info on their sites; again, they expect you to use them, so they don’t request royalties). I will also add that any toys, replica puppets, or other objects of puppets seen on TV/film/stage (ie. Sesame St characters) will almost certainly be illegal to use in a performance. These designs/puppets will be heavily guarded by the copyright holders, and I can tell you Disney takes a pretty dim view of replicas, even to the point of suing those who sell them.
However, this should not be confused with those independent, small puppet makers, like myself, who may have different concerns. Here we may have two conflicting policies: if a puppet is offered for sale as a product, then they will often give up performance copyrights, as with the factory manufacturers. The difference may be when commissioning or collaborating with a puppet maker, as they may choose to retain their rights in the hopes of earning more money (ie. via syndication on a TV series, or through ticket sales from a show), or more simply because they don’t want to give up their copyrights. I’ve found most independent puppet makers will mention their policies on their websites or in their Terms and Conditions upon the sale. A great example is Puppet Planet’s (point 9) own description of her performance copyrights; we’ll get more into that in the next section.
Creative commons and profit shows
Mentioned above is Puppet Planet. Michele clearly points out that for non-commercial projects, she gives up performance rights, and, like other Creative Commons products, hopes to receive a credit in exchange. In this case, for example, a church could easily be exempt from paying royalties, since it is a charity. Another example is to create a Youtube video… presuming of course you’re not earning money from their advertising or whatever and that you’re doing it just for fun.
However, she also points out that commercial projects should contact her about obtaining rights; in this case, she chooses who, what and when her performance rights are to be given freely, and when they are to be obtained with her permission. In this situation, a commercial project would be: a TV series, a live performance that sells tickets, or a video which is sold in stores.
In the case of the non-commercial project, performing with her puppets would be free; in the latter of a commercial project, performing with her puppets would require some sort of royalty.
Furthermore, lower down on her site, Michele points out that her designs are offered usually on a non-exclusive basis (that is, she retains the right to offer a design more than once, and/or retains the right to reuse a design commissioned by you unless otherwise arranged not to) and that it costs more to get a puppet made using a design that is exclusive to you.
"Custom puppets are offered several ways: The more popular and least expensive method is to have one made on a non-exclusive basis. I add it to my line of available characters and keep the rights to it here. Additional media rights can be purchased on a non-exclusive basis for most of my character designs.
"The next step up is exclusive stage rights where you are the only customer for the puppet and you buy the rights for stage use only but we keep the rights here."
So Michele has a number of different policies on both performance and design copyrights, depending on the use of the puppet, the arrangement with you as a customer, and her own personal preferences on how she chooses to use her copyrights. Other puppet makers will have different policies, so you should never assume one policy will accurately represent the policies of other makers.
What to do?
Still confused? The short answer to this question is there is no short answer. Each person will choose to use their copyrights in a different way, so your best bet is to:
- Read more about copyrighting puppets here
- Some additional comments about copyrights and trademarks
- Contact the maker of the puppet; they can best inform you of what kinds of copyrights they hold and whether or not you need permission.
- Never assume that it’s ok to perform with a puppet without checking into copyright permissions (and please don’t try and get around paying royalties; puppet makers aren’t rich and we need all the help we can get… furthermore, it’s illegal).
- Apply for permissions if necessary.
- Make use of the puppets!
Another thing you can do… don’t use those puppets! You can always make your own if you’re that worried about it. And of course, you’d get to keep the performance and design rights yourself, which means if it’s a commercial project, you’ll get more money (assuming you’re performing in it too).
… This post AKA modify a folkmanis puppet for stage
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