"Yoda" is a registered trademark owned by Lucasfilms, a subsidiary of Disney. There is a list of goods and services where the property right is asserted, so for example you could get sued for peddling art books under this name.
As long as you are not using the name “Yoda” in a category in which it has not been trademarked by Disney, you should be okay as long as you do not use any likenesses of the Star Wars Yoda. Those likenesses are protected by copyright, and any use by you if any likeness would be copyright infringement.
In the US and the UK copyright is an automatic right granted to the creator of a work. Disney owns the copyright for Star Wars, and therefore it can decide who can use footage of Baby Yoda and who can't.
The character Grogu, also known as “Baby Yoda,” was from the television series The Mandalorian, is well-protected intellectual property and subject to copyright protection.
Baby Yoda (like the terms “Star Wars,” “The Mandalorian,” and “Yoda”) is owned by Disney, and the company has the legal right to enforce its intellectual property and prevent others from profiting off its work.
To take its IP protection even further, Lucasfilm has even trademarked fun Star Wars-related phrases, such as “May the 4th be With You.” Additionally, a trademark application for Han Solo's famous line “I got a bad feeling about this” is currently pending with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Character names such as Princess Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Darth Vader, Obi Wan Kenobi, C-3PO, R2-D2 and many more are registered as trademarks under various classes in various countries.
Trademark is relevant: a name can be protected by a trademark. "Yoda" is a registered trademark owned by Lucasfilms, a subsidiary of Disney. There is a list of goods and services where the property right is asserted, so for example you could get sued for peddling art books under this name.
"What's wrong with his name?" That's exactly what happened to this Polish couple when they decided to call their son Yoda, after the famous old, wise Star Wars character. The now-four-year-old boy's mum Kinga said that her husband Wojciech first came up with the idea to use Yoda as the baby's middle name.
The moral of the story is that as much as “The Mandalorian” wants us to start using Grogu as liberally as we use “Anakin” or “Leia,” there's no reason we can't keep referring to him as The Child or Baby Yoda. Or even “kid,” which is what Mando calls him.
The sinister Darth Vader is registered as a three-dimensional Union trademark (EM 005896601), as is the design of the Imperial "strom trooper" (EM005896311). The villain's name is also protected under the word mark "Lord Darth Vader" (DE 990370); his antagonist Obi-Wan Kenobi is registered as a word mark DE 39609975.
Make no mistake, none of it is officially licensed. Every merchant on Etsy that is selling Baby Yoda merchandise is infringing Disney's copyright in the character.
What about Disney tags and titles? Using Disney trademarks (the words “Disney”, “Mickey Mouse” etc) anywhere in the listing (title, description and tags) is trademark infringement.
Yes, lots of sounds have trademark protection – or soundmark protection. Darth Vader's breathing is trademarked by Lucasfilm, now a subsidiary of Disney.
Warner bros trademarked the name Harry Potter in 1999 when filming for Harry Potter and the sorcerers stone began. The Harry Potter trademark applies to the following categories: Motion picture films, including animated films.
According to intellectual property law as it currently stands, George Lucas owns the copyright in the Princess Leia story and the character mark in her name and likeness.
Can I draw Star Wars art and sell it? Not legally without permission. However, you can draw people who look like Star wars as long as you don't reference any of their property.
You may conduct a free online search of the USPTO database at the Public Search Facility (Madison East, 1st Floor; 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia) between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. USPTO personnel may not conduct trademark searches for the public. Private trademark search firms will conduct searches for a fee.
Artistic works would include graphics, logos, photographs, sculptures and of great relevance to the Star Wars franchise, images of a fictional character are protected as artistic works e.g. R2-D2, Yoda etc.
To search the USPTO's trademark database, go to TESS and choose a search option. If you are searching for a name, you can use the trademark name search. If you are searching a design mark, such as a logo, you will first need to look up your design code using the USPTO's Design Search Code Manual.
