Originally Posted by
revlimiter
Copyright law is tough. I am not a lawyer, but here's a few key bits of info.
Every company defends their property at a different rate. Take concerts for example. You can record and redistribute Pearl Jam concert footage and bootleg recordings to your heart's content. The band is completely behind it and even sells their own recordings of their own concerts. Fans are free to trade them, even the official ones.
On the other hand, you have Janet Jackson. If you so much as post a 15 second video clip of her on your instagram, her lawyers will attack and you'll lose your entire Instagram account due to copyright infringement. They go after people sharing photos of her too. I can't imagine the legal reaming a poor fan would receive if they had a bootleg of an entire Janet Jackson concert out for trade.
Some companies defend their "property" far too much. Others are pretty cool. Since the HW customizing community is so vibrant, I'd say there's a near zero probability of being legally punished. However, you never know. I'd not let a little fear get in the way. If you become big enough for the big boys to notice, that's pretty huge in itself.