Originally posted by: Karyudo
I'm no lawyer (better mention that right off the top), but I am pretty sure that you can't copyright "Darth Vader". As but one example, of course.
You can copyright the images in a film that show Darth Vader, you can copyright a script in which Darth Vader appears, you can copyright promotional still photos of Darth Vader -- you can even copyright the soundtrack where you hear Darth Vader.
But what you can't copyright is the shape and colour of Darth Vader's costume, say. Nor can the person who creates Darth Vader have anything to say about photos or artwork created by others that feature the likeness of Darth Vader. If you go out and create your own Darth Vader costume, that's not illegal. If you take photos of it, then you hold the copyright on those photos. And if you want to sell those photos or the suit, I don't think that's illegal. (See paragraph one about me not being a lawyer, though: this stuff should really be checked...)
What I'm sayin' is, I think if you drew your own Darth Vader, or X-Wing, or such-and-such, then you can do with that what you want. You can't stick a "Star Wars" logo on it, but you can make your own logo and put that on it.
Maybe that's a little more flexible?
I hope that is the case. That would make our job a lot easier.... how would we find out for sure? I'd hate to make assumptions to turn this into a legal fiasco. Maybe Zion already has an answer lined up.