Sorry, You Can't Patent Cartoon Characters

Dear Rich: I would love to know more about patent drawing requirements. Well, first off my drawing in this case are cartoons characters which I would love to share around the internet but I am afraid that it will be easily stolen. Is it possible to patent cartoons for example, Mickey Mouse? If yes what should I do to achieve such actions and what documents are required? I'm interested in starting an online comic and my further plan is to sell some small merchandise into the market and therefore I will need such protection. We think you misunderstand the purpose of patent drawings. They're technical illustrations that explain how to make and use a patented innovation. So, they're not the right choice for protecting a cartoon character.*
How do most cartoonists protect their creations? Most cartoon characters are protected under copyright and trademark law (not patent law). Even though copyright is free and automatic, we still recommend copyright registration (online $35). Read more about copyright protection and registration for protecting cartoons and comic strips. You can also acquire trademark protection for your character. That provides exclusive rights to the character name, logo, and image on certain goods and services. Read more about trademark law, here. Keep in mind, no matter what laws protect your character, you can't prevent others from stealing it. These legal protections give you the basis - assuming you can afford it --  to chase, sue and recover from the wrongdoers.
* That Said Dept. Although there's no way you can obtain a utility patent for a cartoon character (utility patents only protect functional inventions), you can file a design patent, if, for example, your character is incorporated into the design of a lamp base. It's probably overkill in your situation because of the costs involved for filings (particularly if you are seeking expedited treatment). Copyright and trademark laws should provide equivalent or better protection.

Should I Give Gag-Givers Credit?

Cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo in a
Lucky Strike ad

Dear Rich: I write and draw a web comic involving a set of recurring characters. Sometimes I run a joke I'm working on by a couple of my friends, to see if the joke comes through clear, and, if not, how could it be improved. However, now everyone I know is starting to tell me their ideas for gags. Their contributions usually consist of either (a) suggesting a basic concept (man falls off horse) or (b) suggesting a change to my fleshed out joke (farmer falls off COW, dies, etc). In both instances, I am still the one laying out the panels, structuring the joke, coming up with the dialogue, drawing and coloring it. Being friends and all, I want to show my appreciation for their help by giving them credit on the individual strip, but I am worried that by putting his/her tag alongside mine, I am giving up sole control of my copyright on that strip. Is that the case? The Dear Rich Staff is wondering about jokes in which people fall off animals. We suppose that's an interesting niche although the idea of a farmer falling off a cow and dying seems sad to us. Maybe it could be funny if it was a zombie farmer, though frankly, we're not sure about all this "funny" zombie stuff. It must be tragic to be a zombie, worse than having dementia or even worse than being trapped on BART next to a woman iPhoning her friend about wedding invitations. Wait, here's a concept for a web comic strip -- a zombie wedding planner. Or did we see that movie?
Right, you had a question.  We doubt that you would need to share copyright with someone who gives you a gag for a comic strip. We think your contributors are providing concepts that are probably unprotectible under copyright because (1) the concepts are ideas, or, (2) the concepts constitute unprotectible short phrases. As we've written before, it's tough to protect gags and jokes. What's protectible is the manner in which you express your comic strip. If, however you are collaborating with someone and going beyond the basic gag idea -- say for example, discussing what the comic panels would consist of -- then you may be expanding into co-authorship and copyright co-ownership. So avoid going beyond a discussion of the basic gag. If you want to feel more secure, and if you're going to solicit ideas online, provide terms and conditions in which the contributor agrees to give up rights when submitting an idea.
A tip o' the Hatlo hat ... As for providing attribution, that's up to you. It certainly worked for cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo who encouraged readers to send in ideas and then gave the contributor a "tip o' the Hatlo hat" attribution.