Kickstarter Homer Simpson

Dear Rich: I am working on a Kickstarter music project and realized my cardboard "life" size Homer Simpson is in the back round of the entire video and that could be a copyright issue?! I also speak to it once comedically, but I never refer to it by name. Otherwise, it simply remains in the back round. Would this be a copyright issue? Most likely you don't need to worry about retribution ... but if you check the big legal scoreboard in the sky, you've got two strikes against you: copyright infringement (for reproducing the image of Homer) and trademark infringement (because you're using Homer to endorse your commercial venture). And you're also violating Kickstarter's terms of use (which states you cannot submit content that infringes any trademark or copyright). We're going to guess that neither Rupert Murdoch or Kickstarter will notice your use, but if they do and request a takedown of the video, we'd suggest that you comply. We've written Homer-related posts before (including one on using Homer's medical records).