It's that question, precisely, that is why I avoid making a flat out statement of do or do not do this. That's the question that each individual artist is going to have to make for themselves. And the reason I say that is because these matters are decided, usually, not by a jury of peers, but by either a single judge or a panel of them, depending on where they stand in the appeals process. And I say usually, above, only because the DMCA has changed that, since the new distribution provisions of it now make it a criminal offense in certain circumstances. And ya know, I don't have a freaking clue how a judge -- who is typically not going to be terribly familiar with all of this stuff -- is going to rule. Since, in many of these cases, we're dealing with licensed properties, where the owner of the property has a potential to make an income (it's potential, not actuality, that applies) through the same means, I'm inclined to suspect they would rule in favor of the property owner -- but that's my gut feeling. It will also depend on all the other facotrs involved, including things like transformative use and trade dress. So while I might not have a problem with certain distinctive elements, personally, I might have an issue with the collective sum of those elements. By that last bit, let's go back to the gilligan's island example earlier. If we work from the specific assumption that Gilligan is a trademarked character, I would not expect there to be a problem with someone selling a hat, shirt, pants, and shoes similar in color and form to the ones he wore. Even colored the same. Put that same outfit on an skinny, kinda dorky looking guy with a strong resemblance to the actor, drop him on a boat or on an island, and market it that way -- then yeah. There's gonna be an issue. But, at the same time, the creator could choose to market that same item simply by showing only the clothing. No big deal, since that's essentially what is being sold, in truth -- and that's a valid transformative use. It's when those elements are used in confunction with the other elements that make up the body of a trademark that the issue lies. Now you wanna get really freaking wild, let's look at buildings, boat hulls, and bottles...

thou and I, my friend, can, in the most flunkey world, make, each of us, one non-flunkey, one hero, if we like: that will be two heroes to begin with. (Carlyle)