Posted by JamesJay at dialup-63.215.231.78.dial1.stamford1.level3.net on September 01, 2001 at 01:20:45:
In Reply to: Depends on what you're asking for posted by Zeebadaboodee on August 31, 2001 at 23:29:46:
Whoever owns the characters is the person or entity (in the case of Miramax) you would have to receive permission from to utilize the characters.
"Jay and Silent Bob" are characters that are copyrighted through ViewAskew Productions (the last time I checked). If Kevin is the sole owner of ViewAskew then you only need his permission to use the characters for a play in which you would charge an admission fee. If there are more owners (or partners) than Kevin, you need to get permission from all parties.
Also, be careful about using the characters even if you aren't charging anybody a dime. Any income or benefit derived from use of the characters could conceivably be sought after by the owners of the property. (Jay and Silent Bob.) Furthermore (boy, don't lawyers sound like complete dicks??) any monies or potential income that you intentionally or unintentionally deprive the owners of by using the characters could be sought after by the owners.
I know that last paragraph is a tough one, so I'll try to make it simple. You can't earn any benefit or deprive the owners of any benefit without paying the owners back if you use characters from the "ViewAskewniverse" even with the permission of the owners. The safest thing to do, from a legal standpoint, is to always get permission first.
Cheers,
James.