Q: I'm making a series featuring some Disney Pixar characters, and I want to host a private website to show off my ideas.
Of course, drawings of the characters will be featured (looking how they do in the movies so you get the feeling you're really watching the show, but it's my own art, I'm not selling it, and VERY FEW people will see this, it's a private site, remember), so, despite this just being for fun, and the site not being public to most anyhow, will I get in trouble? I'm really not sure at this rate, and I'd rather be safe than sorry.
If it also helps, the series is TV-MA (Mature Content), whereas the universe it comes from is PG.
A: What you're describing is clearly copyright and trademark infringement, and Disney is well known for coming after infringers. I wouldn't invest too much money in the project, if I were you. You do see Pixar fan fiction on the internet, and Disney doesn't seem to be too concerned about text stories, but they are more likely to do something about their images being copied, especially if they aren't pleased with the mature themes.
Robert P. Cogan agrees with this answer
A:
I somewhat disagree it the previous answer. This may fall under a fair use exception since you are not selling anything. In addition, you are drawing your own characters based off of others rather than using their copyrighted images.
It also depends on who will have access to the site. Just you? Just family and friends? The entire internet? Are you eventually wanting to sell something? This answer is not legal advice and I'm not saying that you won't have issues. I'm just saying that it may not be as cut-and-dry as the previous answer made it out to be.
Definitely contact a copyright lawyer to get a detailed answer specific to your situation.
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