What is protected
A trademark. A logo, a name, sometimes packaging or a colour. It is protected by Article 1484 of the Russian Civil Code: only the rights holder, or someone they have authorised, may use it for their goods and services.
A character. A hero of a film, cartoon, book or game. Under Article 1259 of the Russian Civil Code, copyright extends to a character if it is the result of the author’s creative labour and can be used separately from the work. A recognisable cartoon hero is exactly such a case.
A whole work. A film still, a cover, a famous painting, if the author died less than 70 years ago.
What is not protected:
- style («in watercolour manner», «in the style of Japanese animation», «like Soviet posters»);
- an idea («a wizard boy», «a helper robot»);
- works in the public domain. Classic fairy tales and characters by old authors, if more than 70 years have passed since the author’s death. But be careful: a modern screen adaptation of a classic is protected separately, and you cannot use its specific look of the hero.
What is allowed and what is not
| Situation | Risk |
|---|---|
| Generating a famous character for yourself, without publishing | minimal |
| Publishing fan art on a personal blog without advertising | exists, the rights holder may demand removal |
| Someone else’s logo on a generated product in a marketplace card | high |
| A cartoon character on a print, T-shirt or sticker for sale | high |
| A famous hero or brand in an ad video | high |
| Your own character «in the style» of a famous cartoon | low, if the hero is not recognisable as someone else’s |
| Mentioning a brand in the text of a review or comparison | usually acceptable |
The main rule: the fact that AI generated the image does not change the rights holder’s rights. A court or a marketplace does not care whether an artist or a model drew the character.
What happens if you do it
- Compensation. For unlawful use of a trademark or a work, the rights holder can claim 10 thousand to 5 million rubles, or twice the value of the goods or the right.
- Seizure and destruction of counterfeit goods.
- Blocking on a marketplace. Wildberries and Ozon block cards following complaints from rights holders, and this is the fastest and most common scenario for a seller.
- Administrative liability for unlawful use of a trademark on goods.
- Advertising complaints. Using someone else’s brand in an ad as if you were connected with it can be ruled unfair competition.
Why models refuse
Model developers filter requests with famous brands, characters and celebrities. The reason is clear: large studios file lawsuits against AI companies over the generation of their characters.
How strict this is varies between models. One will refuse at the word «Mickey», another will draw a similar little mouse without the name. But getting around the filter does not make the use lawful: if the result is recognisable as someone else’s character, the rights holder’s rights are infringed regardless of how you worded the prompt.
How to make your own instead
Your own character. Invent a hero from scratch: appearance, clothing, personality, colour palette. Make their portrait and angles in Nano Banana Pro and use them as references in every scene. How to keep the hero consistent: character consistency.
A style instead of a character. Instead of «draw it like in cartoon X», describe the features of the style: «soft 3D animation, big eyes, warm pastel colours, soft light». A style is not protected. More: copyright for AI images.
Your own logo. Generate your own mark in Recraft, which works well with logos and vector. Before registering or printing it, check that it is not confusingly similar to someone else’s registered mark.
Your own brand on the product. For a marketplace card, show only your own product from a real photo, without other companies’ logos in the background. How to make the image: marketplace product images with AI.
On using AI video in advertising in general: can you use AI video for commercial purposes.
How to make your own logo and check it: a logo with AI.
In short
Someone else’s logo, brand or character generated by AI is still someone else’s. For yourself, without publishing, the risk is minimal; on a product, in an ad or on a marketplace it is high: compensation of up to 5 million rubles and a blocked card. A style is not protected, so make your own hero and your own logo in the manner you want, not a copy of a famous one.
