If anything on both shows what is protected legally would be the original designs and looks. Notice that in both instances the alternatives for rental form other places do not duplicate the original designs but have created their own version of the puppets.  If your shadow puppet does not step on either the original design or even Swazzels design of Audry I think maybe you would be ok but not sure.

That's what I was thinking, but wasn't entirely sure. Obviously before doing anything I'd make contact with the Australian licencing company and find out officially from them. I doubt it would cause any problems, but it's always best to check beforehand.

There is an issue of the licensing for merchandise. I am not sure how far that licensing goes. It could be that is something an original producer holds and that once a show is released from that original contract merchandising licenses are no longer an issue. That being said with other works like books and such merchandising licenses are quite long lived. Just try making and selling a facsimile of your favorite super hero and you'll find out.   The reason I mention this is because it could be a shadow puppet would be seen as protected under a merchandising license.

As far as I know, performance, design and merchandising would all be separate issues here. I wouldn't be seeking to merchandise the puppets, just offer them for hire since most companies have difficulty in locating Audreys.

One reason why I've put the idea on the backburner is because of the difficulty in coming up with a character design which doesn't infringe on someone else's design, but still having it remain 'Audrey' enough that it entices companies to hire them. After all, shadow puppet versions aren't common (done at all?) and it would be hard for amateur companies to be interested in something which doesn't look like a typical Audrey puppet.

Just wondering if there's been a reply from Russ since I posted this.

No I never got a reply from Russ on the email I sent.

That's disappointing. Ah well, it *was* out of curiousity anyway...