When is cosplay a crime?

Cosplay—or dressing up as your favorite character from pop culture—is fun! But it can fall into a legal gray area when it comes to companies' intellectual property. Today on the show: a group of cosplayers, Lucasfilm(!), a lawyer, and finding economic symbiosis in order to express yourself. Related episodes: Before La La Land there was Fort Lee, New Jersey ( Apple / Spotify ) Why aren't filmmakers shooting in LA? ( Apple / Spotify ) For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez . Music by Drop Electric . Find us: TikTok , Instagram , Facebook , Newsletter . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy