Question about Fair Use in comic books.

[Leebenhouse]

For those of you that don't knoiw, it is legitimate to refrence say public figures in fiction, as theyre allowed to be fairly used.

Also I think this covers characters such as Mickey Mouse.

Now I was wondering, does this also apply to comic book characters? I know a lot of indie books make direct refrences to mainstream comics, but mainstream books naver do. Is this merely because they don't want to promote the other guy?

Also, why are comic books so afraid to refrence real political leaders? I'm not sure who DC's president is anymore, but I know that Marvel goes along with the real world, and definantly Ultimate Marvel certainly does.

so, to quote Jerry Seinfeld; "What's the deal with that?"

Maybe Kurt Bsuiek or somebody who works in the biz that goes on the boards can help out here.

[Haunt]

For those of you that don't knoiw, it is legitimate to refrence say public figures in fiction, as theyre allowed to be fairly used.

Also I think this covers characters such as Mickey Mouse.

Now I was wondering, does this also apply to comic book characters? I know a lot of indie books make direct refrences to mainstream comics, but mainstream books naver do. Is this merely because they don't want to promote the other guy?

Also, why are comic books so afraid to refrence real political leaders? I'm not sure who DC's president is anymore, but I know that Marvel goes along with the real world, and definantly Ultimate Marvel certainly does.

so, to quote Jerry Seinfeld; "What's the deal with that?"

Maybe Kurt Bsuiek or somebody who works in the biz that goes on the boards can help out here.

George Bush was in the current issue of Supreme Power; blatantly-so.

[Chiasm]

George Bush was in the current issue of Supreme Power; blatantly-so.

In past issues Carter and Reagan were present as well.

[Leebenhouse]

Thanks to whoever moved this to a better location, I just used the Marvel forum since Marvel deals with it a bit more.

I read Supreme Power/Squadron Supreme, so I'm more than aware of this usage, and I applaud it, but Supreme Power is its own little continuity, likened to an indie comic. Also considering that most of the people they've used are now historical figures, those are frequently used, like Bobby Kennedy in the American Way mini from Wildstorm.

Not to mention FDR in all WWII flashback comics.

[Brandon Hanvey]

You have your terms mixed up. This would not be a case of Fair Use.

Public figures only apply to libel and slander cases. A public figure is only a person living or dead that is famous in some way. See here for more info (http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/defamation.html#3)

Mickey Mouse and other made up characters are not protected under this since they are copyright characters. Parody laws can protect some uses of copyrighted characters.

[StoneGold]

And for the record, there is no more public figure than the president of the United States. Really, you could have him having sex with baby corpses while defecating on the American flag and strangling a puppy and there's not much he could do.

[tricksterpup]

And for the record, there is no more public figure than the president of the United States. Really, you could have him having sex with baby corpses while defecating on the American flag and strangling a puppy and there's not much he could do.
um.. declare war on you. State that you have Weapons of Mass Destruction, even though you don't.

[StoneGold]

um.. declare war on you. State that you have Weapons of Mass Destruction, even though you don't.
If you live in another country, sure. If you are a US citizen, legally, there's not much he's supposed to be able to do. Illegally, sure, but that's what has us in the fun we're in today.