Can I sell MOCs on ebay?

[interestedpen]

Hi, I was wondering whether it's legal to sell mocs on ebay. Say for example, I made a Lego MOC of the show "How I Met Your Mother" would I be able to sell it on ebay, or would that be a breach of copyright or something?

[spzero]

yes loads of people sell MOC's and custom items on ebay as for copyright one or two companies might kick off but 99% wouldn't and I would imagine copyright is not a factor as you are not copying anything, just as you can photograph or paint a branded item or scene with shops and logo's in and don't have to pay royalties, but I think you will be OK,

The playstation game "London racer" used loads of real life logo's on buildings without paying any fee's as they photographed the buildings with the sign age / logo's of stores and pasted them over a 3D frame, saved them millions and loads of hassle. its a great loop hole

Edited April 3, 2013 by spzero

[Werlu Ulcur]

I have a MOC I bought on eBay en route that should get here next week.

[Grimmbeard]

I've seen many MOCs on ebay, though I'd be willing to bet they don't sell as well as complete sets.

I'm not sure about copyright issues, but I don't think it should be a big deal.

Edited April 4, 2013 by Grimmbeard

[Shu]

bottom line is, yes, as you can practically sell anything at ebay.

[PsyKater]

That wasn't the question.

If it is your MOC (you created it) then you have the IP of it and you are allowed to sell it. If you use another IP in it (e.g. HIMYM) then you have to ask for permission to sell it. So far the law in most (western) countries.

Practically you most probably won't get any problems while you are doing it privately (i.e. very small amounts etc).

[Meatman]

That wasn't the question.

If it is your MOC (you created it) then you have the IP of it and you are allowed to sell it. If you use another IP in it (e.g. HIMYM) then you have to ask for permission to sell it. So far the law in most (western) countries.

Practically you most probably won't get any problems while you are doing it privately (i.e. very small amounts etc).

Within the boundaries of good morals you should ask for permission, but legally you really can't do anything if people sell other people's MOCs. There have been many discussions on this in the Technic forum including responses from people who were selling other people's models.

[PsyKater]

Again, that does not contradict my post, but I am surprised though. Is it because a MOC does not qualify as IP?

[AndyC]

Within the boundaries of good morals you should ask for permission, but legally you really can't do anything if people sell other people's MOCs. There have been many discussions on this in the Technic forum including responses from people who were selling other people's models.

Legally you have every right to protect the copyright of your design and it is most definitely not permissible under the law in most countries to re-sell someone else's design without permission (note this is subtly different to if they buy the instructions from you and then sell their copy). However the cost of taking someone to court over it is probably unlikely to make it a worthwhile endeavour unless you also happen to be selling the design yourself and can show the seller is making significant profits on it. In most cases in the Lego community it's probable the money involved isn't going to be worth the legal fees and hassle involved.

[Henchmen4Hire]

There's no problem, people sell custom action figures and custom model kits of popular characters all the time and no one ever gets hassled. It's simply not worth the time, money, and effort of a company to go after someone using their ideas, especially not if the "IP thief" is just some guy in a garage with no money to take lol