Is the image of the "space invader", i.e. the little pixellated character, regarded as in the public domain?

Question

I often see the little pixellated "space invader" character from the old Taito arcade game on all sorts of media, such as in ads, on t-shirts, on posters, etc.

What I want to know - is the character regarded as being in the public domain? I.e. can people use it on t-shirts and the like, or do they need to ask Taito? I need an actual answer, as "better safe than sorry" is obvious.

Answer 1

If you're going to use it on t-shirts as a non-commercial thing, then it's fine to do so. But I wouldn't recommend juxtaposing it with something unrelated -- like your own business or maybe something commercial. Space Invaders is still quite popular, and popular icons aren't really forgotten.

Besides, the Invaders game was released in the 70's, and as far asI know, the owners haven't made the source code open. This includes both the lines of code and the images related to them. These are both technically owned by Taito.

So the short answer is, wear the image as a fan but not as something you intend to profit from

Answer 2

US copyright laws have a section titled "Fair Use." In that section, it describe the various ways in which copyrighted material can be use.

In your case, if you are, merely making the shirts for your own use, or to give as gifts, for instance, then there should be no problem.

However, if you intend to make the shirts to sell them, this would reqire persmission, or license, from the copyright owner. I can "guarantee" that the images are still copyright protected.

www.copyright.gov