QLD Intellectual Property Law on Books with Celebrity Cartoon Caricature?

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littlebiz15

Member
26 October 2016
1
0
1
Hi everyone,

I'm trying to kickstart an inspirational book. It contains cartoon caricatures of inspirational people (sometimes celebrities) drawn by me, as well as short blurbs containing a few facts about their lives.

An example of a blurb: Kanye West is an American hip hop recording artist, songwriter, record producer, fashion designer, and entrepreneur. He has sold over 32,000,000 records. He had his first official music production credit at age 19, and released his first album at age 27.

I also want to put the information and caricatures on greeting cards.

What legal steps should I take to protect myself beforehand under intellectual property law? What are the possible legal ramifications of releasing and selling stuff like this?

Thanks for any help :)
 

Leonard Mancini

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
4 August 2016
47
18
189
Gold Coast
lawtap.com
Just be careful not to reproduce a copyrighted work accidentally.

For instance your drawings, make sure they are not drawings taken from a famous photograph that can be recognised as the drawing may well be regarded as a reproduction of the copyright in the photograph.

Same with the text - ensure that it is original and not lifted from other sources.

The only other thing to think about are trade marks. Its unlikely but sometimes (in rare situations) trade marks cover book titles. Might be worth running it through ATMOSS database to see.