can an indie film make money if copyrighted characters are used?

the story is my idea. Leon, coping with PTSD from all the crap he's dealt with in his life, finds that the ghosts of his past cannot be ignored or buried. Now he finds himself in a post t-virus terrorist attack (where a terrorist group dropped a t-virus bomb on the east coast) which has left half of the USA infested with zombies. So I kind of went the route of the Rambo films, with a character that wants no more of the crap he's been through, but finds that he must confront it one last time
 
nobudgetfilmmaker said:
the story is my idea. Leon, coping with PTSD from all the crap he's dealt with in his life, finds that the ghosts of his past cannot be ignored or buried. Now he finds himself in a post t-virus terrorist attack (where a terrorist group dropped a t-virus bomb on the east coast) which has left half of the USA infested with zombies. So I kind of went the route of the Rambo films, with a character that wants no more of the crap he's been through, but finds that he must confront it one last time
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Great.
Now watch this...
THE ADVENTURES OF CREATIVE MAAAAAAANNNN!!!!!​

PRESIDENT'S EVIL
Leon = Lars

Lars coping with PTSD from all the crap he's dealt with in his life, finds that the ghosts of his past cannot be ignored or buried.

T-Virus = http://antivirus-software.topchoicereviews.com/11-most-common-computer-viruses_243.html
How does Melissa20 Virus strike you? (T is the 20th letter in the alphabet)!

Lars now finds himself in a post Melissa20 virus terrorist attack (where a terrorist group dropped a M20V bomb on the [White House]) which has left the east coast of the USA infested with zombies.

Ta-da!
Instant original premise (cough, cough. sorta).

See?
No big whup.


nobudgetfilmmaker said:
God, legal stuff is such a pain in the @$$
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Yeah.
Tell China about it! :lol:
 
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The only characters you can legally use are public domain characters where the creators are long dead.

Feel free to make your own version of Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde, Fall Of The House Of Usher, The Raven, Frankenstein, Dracula, Hercules, The Time Machine, Journey To The Center Of The Earth, or Robin Hood.

You cannot steal currently copyrighted characters and stories. You need written permission from the creator.

I'm using the ancient gods, Artemis and Ares in my current and next production. They are both Public Domain characters that no one can copyright.
 
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nobudgetfilmmaker said:
well, here's what the capcom faq page had to say about the question "can I use one of your characters?"
"Capcom does not object to a one-off use of a character for such things as school projects or a personal T-shirt with the understanding that this is done as a personal activity and that you do not intend to receive revenue by this use of our property. Also, we will not object to such use as long as it is not obscene, defamatory, libelous, offensive or slanderous towards Capcom, our products, or employees, or any third party and does not violate any intellectual property right or a person's right of publicity or privacy. This policy is in no way meant to be interpreted as creating an agreement or grant of license from Capcom to you. We reserve the right to withdraw our permission should this prove necessary."
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You do realize what this is saying right?

It's basically saying:
1. You can use our character if you don't show it to anyone
("done as a personal activity ")

2. You can't get paid for it by anyone
("not intend to receive revenue ")

3. However you use it, you have to make us look good.
("not obscene, defamatory, libelous, offensive or slanderous towards Capcom, our products, or employees, or any third party")

4. After you use it, anytime we feel like, we can sue you.
("We reserve the right to withdraw our permission should this prove necessary")

5. Oh and by the way, if there are rules we forgot to mention, you can't violate those either
("does not violate any intellectual property right or a person's right of publicity or privacy")

So it's basically a proceed at your own risk statement.
 
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