My sister has a great idea for a toy does she need a copyright before she can...?

Question

My sister has a great idea for a celebrity doll, and she makes her own "customized" dolls all the time that are very professional looking.
She wants to mail one out to this celebrity or to their company as a prototype. I'm worried that they will see it and take her idea. Should she get a copyright or some form of legal work done before she mails a prototype?
Also, where should she mail it to? The celebrity's managment company?
Any legal advice would be great
Thanks

Answer 1

The answers here that say that a doll cannot receive copyright protection are absolutely incorrect. The Copyright Office specifically mentions dolls as a type of three-dimensional visual work that is eligible for protection. The deposit requirements are listed in the link below.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ40a.html

Now, whether copyright or some other form of protection is appropriate for your case is really something no one can say here. To answer your question, you don't "need" anything, but certain things may be preferable depending on your specific case.

Before you speak to anyone about your doll, you should speak to an attorney first. You may want a non-disclosure agreement, among other documents, before you proceed. Further, using the likeness of a celebrity may present other issues that you need to address beforehand as well.

Answer 2

> Should she get a copyright or some form of legal work done before she mails a prototype?

She needs a business plan instead of a dream. The answers on how to proceed will come from the planning process.

tip: Copyright will not be involved, but seeking legal advice certainly will be.

Under no circumstances should she mail out a prototype or even a description until the legal and business "t"s are crossed and the "i"s are dotted. There is no rush.

There are too many issues here for me to go into in more detail then that.

Answer 3

First, a copyright is not used for things, patents are. I am not sure that she has anything patentable as many people already make celebrity dolls. She might be able to get a patent if she created some new process.

If the doll is a physical likeness of a celebrity, she will likely need to pay the celebrity a licensing fee for the use of their likeness.

Answer 4

She does need to protect her interests before anyone else sees it. When items are mailed to a celebrity, there is no gurantee the celeb will get it. There are a lot of weasly people out there.

Answer 5

A manufactured product cant be copyrighted, you must apply for a patent