Props, Costumes, Copyright, and Risk - Making a Living in the Cosplay Scene 

LEGIT fantastic info, and thank you for mentioning 3d files and 3d prints. Disney C&D'd my Darth Vader Red Bull Koozie on Thingiverse, so I know all about the Mouse Muscle.

Solid advice for all creative business people!

Thanks so much for the info Bill!! Super good timing too bc we are in the process of getting into props and costumes and had worries about this exact thing 😁

Thanks for making this, all of this info is super important and helpful!

This was crazy perfect timing!! I was just asking myself this question and reached out to a copyright/trademark lawyer today to try and get feedback and then hopped onto youtube and your video was on my feed! Thank you for your experience and sharing your thoughts!! I will definitely still consult a law professional as you said but this was a overview with some fantastic points! Thank you! You ROCK!!!!

honestly, i think the safest bet is simply doing one-off commissioned pieces, and keeping all templates/molds if need be. i'm more on the sewing side of cosplaying, at least when it comes to what i'm likely to sell, so if i were to take an order for a Link costume, draft the patterns, etc then that's a one off. if someone else sees that costume and says "hey i want one too!" then it's easy to simply make another one without it being a mass production line. every item is made to order. that way you're also not getting bogged down in unsold matterial cost. back when it first aired, i made about a dozen attack on titan uniforms. sunk a lot of money into the fabrics, and sold 2 jackets and 4 capes. so those other coats just ended up being given away because no one would buy them. doing everything on a made to order basis, with examples of your previous work, is simply safer. that's how most chinese costume shops operate and use the "one off commission" thing as their work around.

Grateful for this post. My son, age 16, and on the Autistic Spectrum, is just getting involved in cosplay. We've watched a lot of prop tutorials and really like your format. My son loves crafting these things and frankly, he's good at it. I can see him maybe earning a little on etsy and finding a job can be hard on the spectrum so this would be great. With a couple of other makers I've had him write and ask if he can sell props he makes with their patterns. I think learning not to step on toes right from the beginning is super important. Some people will say no; that's inevitable. But many will say "sure, no problem." And frankly, those are the makers we want to support anyway. Thanks for sharing!

As a maker and business owner I really respect you guys for putting this out there. You are pillars in the community and your wisdom is valuable for makers. Many thanks for all you do.

Solid advice and another reason you guys are successful where others have fallen away. Integrity and decency... and just being nice... they really go a long way. Kudos to you guys.

Vids like this is another reason why I love your channel. Great advice and a great topic to get out there.

Same goes for vinyl cutting decals. When I first started making decals I decided up front to purchase several "TM" logos via cds. It served me well with lots of sports orientated cut that I did though it did cost in the beginning. Great info video.

Sound advice Bill, most people don't understand that like with anything, if its worth doing and you have a passion for it, and wish to make a business modeled around that passion. You are absolutely running a risk and should have if not before weighed the level of that risk. I truly appreciate the content you put out there and can't wait to see you start delving more into your own creative properties.

You're awesome. Such great advice. Wishing you the best. You're videos have been incredibly inspirational!

Very good information! Just recently I was wondering how these type of things were viewed from a legal sense. As usual, your video was most informative. Keep up the great work!

Hey! New here and hooked to the channel :) Just thought I'd say thank you, for your quirky humor and your total professionalism. From my point ov view, and probably for a lot of cosplayers, you guys are living the dream (!!!) . I love how you managed to both inform and put things into perspective here. Would totally love to see your designs!

I have never seen anyone in the fan based community of props, toys, and collectibles take as much, if not MORE, time to contribute back to the community as much as they do worry about making money. Your talents are most impressive, but man, I agree with another comment I see below, your heart of gold is what makes you the man you are. That truly "giving" mentality you have is really going to fuel taking "Punished Props" to the next level I think. I would love to some day work with/for a company with a person such as yourself at the helm.

As always informative, thank you for placing your support in the community.

As Someone who has wanted to get into prop building for a long time this is extremely helpful to know and I appreciate your time putting this out. As you said I know you're not a law person but still having a maker as established as yourself talking about these types of things it's very informative.

I was reading your comments and saw you pretty much reply to Everyone! Wow, I already loved your videos and channel (it's what I watch sometimes when working in my shop on props) but as a content creator on RU-vid I respect your dedication to your fanbase so much more. A lot of RU-vidrs just splash vids, and tell people to like, comment, then never read or reply to them. Keep up the Amazing work!!!👍🏻

I once got a C&D letter from a company for selling something that was listed in the description as "Not a XXXX" they didnt like that their product was mentioned. It was weird, the form letter they sent was super harsh and legal, i just emailed them back very politely and asked what I could do to make them happy. The response i received was certainly written by a human and not a lawyer, so after a couple email exchanges it all worked out, I got to keep my listing just had to change the wording around a bit. But even still it was a big company and they just went looking for anything with their name in it, even if it was used in comparison to their product.

God I love this video. Something I've thought about for a long time. Well done man. Awesome.

Well said Bill, this helped clear up a lot of things I was unsure about, MORE LIKE THIS PLEASE !!!!!

Thanks for this video, there is a lot of good things to think about in it! I've been watching you for a while and it's been awesome and inspiring to see your business grow, it's been inspiring for my own journey. I am lucky that my husband actually just graduated law school, focusing on IP law. It's good to have a lawyer on retainer haha

This was a good video, had lots of info and made a valid point. Keep up they great work Bill.

Thanks Bill. Great food for thought for all of us wanting to take our crafting further.

Amazing video with lots of great info. I do a scale plastic model videos on RU-vid when I was for some time using copyright music. When RU-vid allowed me to start making money I went back and cut out all that music and then paid for my very own music.. this gave me 100% ownership of my content but also supported another maker at the same time. I also only build model kits that are legit licensed products. Great video and keep em coming

Thank so much for making this video!!! I am prop maker and I want to start selling some things was wondering this very same thing!! Great video, thank you for helping us aspiring makers and the community as a whole, you're amazing!! 😃🙌🏼

great video as always! thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Can I give this multiple thumbs up? Excellent advise Bill... thank you!

Lots to think about. Excellent video. I do certain "space conflict" uniforms, and I've been wondering about diversifying.

Great talk Bill, I've always wondered about this kinda grey area in prop making.

Really admire how much of a straight shooter you are, you set a great example for the rest of us.

Amazing video Bill ! It's great that you cover the legal issues of Prop making , it's something people forget way too often , it was very instructive !

I''d love to see more cosplay business advice! This was great.

I create crochet patterns and I run into these same issues. Some people are selling obviously copyrighted/licensed work for money. I thought about doing it because it's easy to be inspired by what you love, but it's not legal, so if I do a project out of love, I just put it for free. This way, basically 0 risk for me as a C&D would only make me take it down, not lose my market. Great video! Can't wait for the next one!

im currently doing a research about cosplay business, im glad to find this video.

That was a very solid review of business strategy options. I am impressed and I have done this for a long time.

Just found this video and I'm so glad I did. I'm just getting into the maker hobby with aspirations of making it into a dream job. I found this video extremely insightful and full of positive reinforcement.

This is a great video and jogs my memory of writing how-to books on making chainmail a long time ago . . . in one of those books I was using images from the internet, chopping them up but still they weren't mine and I was feeling uncomfortable about doing this . . .so great ideas, thanks

Great work! I like this final draft from the rough. Very much needed insight

Great vid! Definitely something people need to watch out for.

Great vid...honest, informative, and to the point!

Thanks that is just perfect timing I was setting up a small business plan to sell small props on Etsy and this is showing what I could do. Luckily my mom is a lawyer so I can talk to her about this stuff.

I am sure I speak for all of us that we would love to see your own custom creations! 👍 if you agree!

This really helps a lot! Keep up with the great content! Thank you

You rock! Thank you so much for an insight into creators businesses do and do not's, as a hobbyist I never thought a bought copyrights...

I found this video very helpful. Thank you!

Very fair, honest and informative information. Your correct in your assessments of these company’s assets. They are not going to consider what your doing stealing from them unless you 1 make bad products 2 they choose to start making similar ones. 3 you are making substantial money from this enterprise The only thing I think you missed was that there is a difference between the fist to come up with something and the first to copyright or trademark something. This goes in part with company’s contesting your claims in order for the value of there existing intellectual property’s to decrease in value

Thanks for the general information, it is good to keep it all in mind.

Wonderful Video. Love this kind of content. Thanks Bill

What a great video, Bill !

Great Overview and thanks for sharing your opinion.

Informative video, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic. There seems to be a grey area between blatant copying for a quick profit and spending countless hours creating a one off inspired by someone else's work.

Great video, sound business philosophy, excellent advice.

Great video, Bill! I often toy with the idea of monetizing my prop making, but know that it’s a whole shwack of grey areas. Great to hear your thoughts and experience on the matter.

Thanks for the info Bill. Makes me feel better doing one off projects and low volume 3D prints for friends.

Question I’ve been wondering for a while🤔 Great video Bill very informative 👍

Tons of great advice here. Thanks Bill!

Thanks! great video, its like you said, depends on the risk someone wants to take. and te final statement, was great. greetings from argentina!

Very informative for anyone thinking about starting up. Thanks

Thank you for confirming my understanding of the risks man!

Thank you for making this video. I have been an etsy seller for a while now and have run into some of these issues.

Thanks Bill. Much appreciated

Thank you for the video ! very helpful and well put!

This was really informative! Thank you as well for making the free files.

This was fantastic for me, I just started a local cosplay supply store in my home town and I was curious where I landed in the copywrite area as a business more of encouraging the community and help those build their own.

Great idea for a video. Thanks.

I am not a cosplay maker, but rather a n ex-game dev who dabbles in making. What you have offered here, in this video, is in my mind is solid advice and to be honest, made me respect you even more. You kept the topic honest and straight forward. These are good thoughts for anyone to keep in mind. Thank you.

Solid, honest advice. Thank you!

Rando comment, You have been awesome about answering back when I comment on your videos. I just wanna say thanks and appreciate it. I plan on using your store just because you are so attentive to your fans. Thanks again

That was really interesting and thank you for your insights.

Thanks Bill for sharing lots of good info

A very complicated topic Bill, great work in breaking it down. With the increasing accessibility to make and distribute creative works, I think IP and copyright should be a focus for education for the 21st century - like you said, ignorance is not bliss however it is only through exposure that many people learn about this topic and without education there is no body that can police everything (except the community itself)

As always just perfect.

Thank you for making this! great info :)

Thank you for the advice man, wisdom worth heeding!

Good message and we'll spoken.

Thanks for the insight Bill!

Refreshing to see someone who doesn't feel entitled, like they just automatically have the right to use someone else's IP and shame on the company for being mean and enforcing it. This was a very good video, respectful and helpful at the same time.

Great information. Thanks man.

This is becoming a bigger and bigger deal in some areas in the toy market. Transformers "3rd party toys" have been getting more and more brave over the years and have even began to branch out to other IPs (overwatch and TMNT to name a few) and we are starting to see the first push backs from the toy company's. I feel with the lowering of costs on 3D printers IP holders are starting to look much closer into things that a few years ago might have slid under the radar. I think as a fandom of certain creators ( I.E. Punished Props etc) we need to really start embracing original ideas and designs more to help keep moving in a positive direction.

Really great video, very informative!

Awesome advice thanks!

Very interesting video even for a non cosplayer/propmaker

fantastic video. 100% on point!

I was just thinking about selling some props for the first time at a Renaissance fair, and I was worried about copyright stuff, I just decided to avoid it as much as possible, but, still very useful. Another thing that I was worried about was using other maker's templates to make things to sell, not copying their work directly, but using parts of them for a base, or as inspiration for something of more my own design

One of the biggest challenges faced by many artists in just about any medium is to get our work noticed by a public that is saturated by mass media constantly. I could build a beautiful object (perhaps a sword) and push it out into the public sphere with a website, on social media, blogs, events, etc. until the cows come home, and it might still be seen by only a handful of people who may or may not want to purchase it. As soon as I call it Conan's sword, or Aragon's sword, or Deadpool's sword, I'll get far more attention because people gravitate toward what they know and like. But even if my sword isn't any of those swords and doesn't look like any of those swords, I would still be hitching a free ride on the marketing train of those franchises and they could still send their attorneys my way. The trick then becomes how to get the attention of people who like those popular franchises (and therefore might like my sword too) without using their names. How many talented musicians on RU-vid who write their own songs can't get noticed without playing cover versions of Pink Floyd or Lady Gaga songs? Sigh... Same as it ever was. (Said with no indended copyright infringment against David Byrne...)

Good vid with sound advice!

Fantastic info - thank you for this...

Thanks so much for this video. I love cosplay and props as FUN only but people close to me keep seeing nothing but money and I try to warning them of the risks. Maybe now coming from a pro they'll actually hear what if been saying. Thanks gain.

Thank you for the vid, very informative.

Yup. I got a cease and desist letter for hand made Nuka Cola cap necklaces on Etsy. They'd rather have you spend more for licensed plastic at Hot Topic. I'm okay with that. Plenty of other things out there to make.

Really good advice!!

Great video! Fantastic feedback and very true. If we get a S & A , comply. Diversity is also important. Thanks for the information

Polite and informative as ever. Good one Bill

When I hear of companies that take this type of stance, I stop buying from them and notify my friends of their actions. Of course I use common sense when deciding if they were justified. But for the most part, we as consumers have a choice individually and a voice when joined together. Whether they choose to listen is up to them.

Props to you (sorry) for making this very important video. IANAL but you seem to have accurately stated the risks. What is interesting is the rproblem of recasting. (propmaker 1 makes X prop and propmaker 2 buys one, then makes a mold it, then sells X prop on the open market). the point made at 6:00 about making an item which someone else sells a licensed version of made me think of one thing:Jayne Cobb hats. i think what everyone should remember is that anyone can sue (or threaten to sue) anyone for any reason, no matter how silly. Music companies have sent take down notices to youtube because your birthday party video had some metallica playing the background for 30 seconds. likewise any company holding IP rights can TRY to force anyone to stop even if the law is not on their side.

you could seek out the company for a contract or a licensing rights, in the long run you could bring in more profit

Thanks for the video. Makes you think about your direction and goals for doing the prop business. Most people don't think about the legal aspect of reproducing things others own the rights to.

This realy helped, thanks bill