Most fan art work is probably not legally permitted, and most likely infringes on someone's copyright. That said, much of the legality of fans' work is up to the person or company who owns the original work (such as Disney).
Only the original creator can use any of the characters and nobody else is allowed unless been given permission or you pay royalties. However, many are still selling fan art without permission and get away with it as they do not get too widespread with their work.
One-of-a-kind, original drawings and paintings are legal. Since everyone does it, copyright holders must not care. If I only sell fan art at conventions, and not online or in stores, it is okay. If I'm not making a profit from my fan art, it is legal to draw someone else's characters.
Technically, this means fan art can be construed to be in violation of copyright law. However, if the piece can be proven to be a parody of the work — as opposed to plagiarism — offering it for sale on enterprise ecommerce platforms may fall under the tenets of the Fair Use Doctrine.
“An artist may make a work of art that includes a recognizable likeness of a person without her or his written consent and sell at least a limited number of copies thereof without violating” his or her right of publicity, the court found.
It is legal to copy anything. It is illegal to sell, publicize and publish a copy of an artwork unless you have prior permission from the copyright owner. It is also illegal to publish and sell an artwork that's substantially similar to another original work of art.
Bottomline is- using celebrities' images for t-shirt design is a big NO. Whether it's a parody, satire, or even a personal drawing of their image. If you insist on using this argument, you may have to prove in court that your work is entirely your own property.
Can you get sued for fan animation? Because of this, the copyright owners of the original work (i.e., the underlying work that is the basis of fan fiction) have the right to sue fan fiction creators for copyright infringement.
Fan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction and derived from a series character or other aspect of that work. They are usually done by amateur artists, semi-professionals or professionals.
In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner.
Fan art is absolutely okay to make and share. However, if you are drawing an almost exact replica of a Disney character, you cannot sell your fan art. There are no protections for selling fan art that is a near copy of a Disney character. A third common statement is fair use.
Fan art & anime really will not be accepted in an art school portfolio; there is nothing wrong with making art like this in other contexts, but not in this one. Poor photos of the artwork can make an excellent artwork look terrible! Take the time to shoot good quality photos.
That's always been the case on Redbubble, but fan art can be different. That's because your fan art is based on someone else's intellectual property, which they own. So, you'd need their permission to do certain things, like selling it... anywhere, even on Redbubble.
Legality. Due to copyright protection, trademark protection and limited fair use provisions, fan films made without official authorization might exist in a legal grey area. Still, fan films often operate under the radar or IP owners turning a blind eye as long they are non-commercial activities.
Under intellectual property infringement laws: —individuals are not allowed to create and sell their own products featuring Sanrio's character artwork or name, even if those items are “homemade”.
Fair Use of Logos: Getting Permission to Use a Logo
You want to use a third party's logo or trademark to make and sell crafts. This will require a trademark license as they are considered intellectual property of the business or logo owner.
Fair use most commonly comes up in the wiki context when it comes to using images. Although the same analysis applies to both text and images, the nature of most fan sites on Wikia means that things like screen captures, character portraits, and cover art are more common applications of the fair use concept.
As a general rule, fan art is illegal to sell on Etsy or anywhere else if the seller doesn't have the proper legal permission from the copyright and trademark holders.
Cosplay is, at its core, a type of fanart.
If you want your business to survive after a few sales, you'll need to get licensing from the copyright and trademark owners. Without a licensing agreement, your merchandise could be seized at the border, or you could get sued and have your company shut down by the intellectual property (IP) owners.
Absolutely, you can take legal action if someone leaks your OnlyFans content. OnlyFans content is copyrighted material and when someone else distributes it without your permission, they're infringing on your copyright. This is where the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) comes into play.
Fanfiction is fair use as long as the work is “transformative,” meaning that the new author added content with new meaning and value to the original work. The derivative work must also be “noncommercial” in nature, meaning the author does not make any money from their fanfiction.
The short answer is a big NO. Unless you have the authorization, agreement, and contract with rights and limitations in doing so from the celebrity/ his/her management/agent, then you have no legal right to use and especially print and make sales off of a celebrity's image.
Don't Use Quotes
If speech has been recorded, placed in writing, used as a slogan, or repeated in online public discourse, do not use it as a text quote for your t-shirt. Except for public domain quotes, when a work is fixed in a tangible form, you cannot use it commercially.