If I create a cartoon based on my life, do I need to pay my friends royalties?

Question

Im drawing a cartoon based on my life and am going to pitch it to several cartoon stations.  What I want to know is Im drawing cartoon likenesses of my friends that resemble them, and am using their nicknames, not their full names.  Would they be able to sue for royalties and using their likenesses?  The cartoon looks like them, and is not using their real names, just their nicknames.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Nope.  Not if you don't use real names and include the usual disclaimer about "All people, places, and events are ficticious.  Any resemblance to real people living or dead is coincidental."

Charles Schultz used people from his life as a model for his characters.  Gary Trudeau was a little more obscure about it.  But every political cartoonist on the planet draws charicatures of political figures and identifies them by name; you don't see them paying royalties...

James · Answer

If someone is likely to think that you are portraying them, they could sue to get royalties or prevent you using their likeness.

If I create a cartoon based on my life, do I need to pay my friends royalties?

2 Answers