I am a big fan of Wallace and Gromit. I want to build a mail box that is Gromit’s “side car airplane” complete with porrige cannon ( static, no porrige involved.)Got to have something to do all winter!I checked with the local post office, and was told that they have no duty to deliver to any mail box not approved by the grand pubba at the nation wide level. But I could get it approved by the local guy, but he was not there. I found out if the design contains glass, it is verboten. Mine does not. It cannot be cemented in, they have to be break-away design, so if the postal guy hits it and mows it over it does not do damage to thier vehicle. No sharp edges, the chicken wire in my design was suspect, even though it was buried in fiberglass. But that was just the clerk, not “The man” But anyway, I now await permission from Larry. What was that whole thing about wind and rain and snow? Now that I think about it there was no mention of fiberglass…
Do I need permission from the studio (I think it is Aardvark Productions) that created Wallace and Gromit to hand build a one of a kind mail box? Not for resale?
Mrs. Seenidog says I am anal about such things, I say I am prudent. She is just stubborn, I have resolve.
It would be a trademark issue, not copyright. Ideally, you’d need Aardman’s permission.
However, if they do discover it, they’ll probably just send you a letter asserting their rights. At most, they will ask you to take it down as long as you’re not selling it.
This is not a copyright question but a trademark question.
The Wallace and Gromit characters are trademarked for an astounding variety of products. Mail boxes aren’t listed specifically, but it would be hard to argue that they meant to specifically exclude them.
Would they give you permission to use the characters on your mail box if you wrote to ask? Almost certainly not, but that’s just a guess.
So, can you do it legally? No. Would anybody notice if you did? Probably not, but that’s a different question.
First, the postal service issue. This can be solved by taking a regulation-issue approved mailbox and placing it inside of your sculpture. At least it works here.
Second, the copyright/trademark issue. Is it acceptable for you to create an original work of art based upon someone else’s work, a la Andy Warhol and the Campbell’s soup can? That depends on several factors. If you make one (and only one) such mailbox for your own exclusive use, it is unlikely that they will complain. If they do, it will probably come in the form of a “cease and desist” letter, at which point you take the mailbox down and put it in your living room.
I’d be far more worried about having it stolen or vandalized, frankly.