Cosplay Controversey: Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property:
"The art of cosplay is that it highlights that the boundaries between fans, players and creative producers are blurring and transforming mainstream culture. Once fans were believed to break down boundaries between text and reader, now the roles of player and co-producer—or what Axel Bruns calls 'produser'—have been transformed. Pointing to the rise of Web 2.0 and its emphasis upon 'participatory culture,' Henry Jenkins argues that fans are increasingly impacting mainstream culture, policy and intellectual property." (Hjorth. Game Girl: Re-imagining Japanese Gender and Gaming via Melbourne Cosplayers.)

Cosplayers Discuss Intellectual Property Suits:
- According to the U.S. copyright office, you can't copyright a costume because it falls under "useful goods"(since it is clothing), thus movie costumes generally aren't under copyright. It's more complicated with anime or video games because you're converting a 2D-image to a 3D-costume.

-With regards to movie costumes, the copyright problem actually occurs when you're selling something and associating it with the movie/character because the characters are under copyright.

-For example, selling a dress that bears a striking resemblance to one that Arwen wears in Lord of the Rings and calling it "Elf Princess Dress" is technically legal. However, selling a dress that is virtually identical to one that Awen wears and calling it "Arwen's Dress" or "Lord of the Rings Dress" is not.

- Still, Lucasfilm (Star Wars) has sent cease and desist notices to sites that sell "White Body Armor" that bear striking resemblances to Storm-Trooper armor.

(CienDragon. www.cosplay.com.)

NOTE: Lucasfilms has not enforced any of the Cease and Desist orders that have been sent.