Can you LEGALLY sell fan art on Etsy

[@jessicacinney4509]

I heard from another seller, who got caught selling copyright material, that the attorneys will watch your shop and keep an eye on your sales while they build a case against you. So you may be getting away with it for a while before you get that knock on the door with a cease and desist letter and/ or lawsuit.

[@PamDuthie]

ooh yes good point

[@RoseThistleArtworks]

Good advice. I am constantly surprised by how many people are willing to take the risk with well known characters of other people's design.

[@PamDuthie]

Yes I have had people constantly tell me its OK to do - it is not!! But they wont hear it

[@ecouturehandmades5166]

What's funny is the copyright lawyer that insisted that I make two items using the logos of his favorite sports teams. I compromised with team colors and a extreme close up that gave an impression. He was very happy and paid the extra custom fees. Neither item will ever be sold by me again (actually so OOAK, I don't even know how I did it, lol!). He has bought before and after my "regular" items; still enjoys those "specials".

[@PamDuthie]

Oh wow, well hopefully the lawyer would have your back at least!! I dont do custom of copyright things but I think its very unlikely someone would get caught for it if its just between a customer and you

[@ecouturehandmades5166]

@@PamDuthie Since I had all the emails and Etsy convos, I doubt a court would say I was the one initiating the crime. I could have, should have, said no, of course, but $$$ each? Well, I was greedy and he wanted them to show his team some love... I know my step grands loved their Minion winter hats!

[@PamDuthie]

@@ecouturehandmades5166 :) Minion hats sounds so cool!! And not greedy, a girls gotta eat

[@ecouturehandmades5166]

@@PamDuthie Bright yellow wool is a rare thing to find; I found a small stash of it a couple years back. Made kippahs that looked like candy corn (white, yellow, dark yellow and orange) for Purim, which sold well. Had a repeat buyer when the boy got older and wanted a more "mature" look (we made a gorgeous purple, blue & red marbled Kippah; he wore out his candy corn kippot, lol!).

[@EgoistaXrs]

What a calm voice you have! Also, you explained everything really well, I understood it all! Thanks!

[@PamDuthie]

Glad it helped! Thank you for your kind words

[@NarcisseNavarre]

Right now Etsy is flooded with BG3 fan art of Astarion and other characters. Etsy isn’t doing anything and all of it is illegal. Crazy amount of fan art being sold everywhere.

[@PamDuthie]

The things is Etsy really cant do anything about it. It is up to the copyright holder to defend their copyright because it actually isnt illegal until the copyright holder actually takes the individual artist to court

[@Lish-mk4jk]

what if I am making something new (its an artwork) just with a character from a show? If its not ok then what if I add parody elements in it which is protected by fair use?

[@PamDuthie]

Usually just one character from a show would still not be OK. Parody is a difficult one, fair use can only be decided in a court of law, fair use isnt 'protected' in so much as you can do anything you want if you feel you have made a parody of it. There is not a minimum amount of someone elses IP or copyright you can use, or how much you can transform it. It is more a case of if the owners of the character will want to protect it So its up to you if you want to take that risk, only a judge can say if you were right to

[@ostamg1379]

theres still thousands of baby yoda stuff that are clearly named Baby yoda and have been best sellers for years now. They obviously dont care unless the amount you make becomes too big

[@dinoworld112]

Short answer no if you don't own the property even if its hand drawn or has something to do with a property that is owned its copyright and etsy is full of copyright just look at the marvel stuff and Pokémon stuff

[@Dtgray12]

Why is fan art allowed on Etsy?

[@PamDuthie]

Its not actually its just that Etsy (and other selling platforms) are just platforms and its not up to them to police sellers items, the copyright holder has to demand the listing be taken down

[@Dtgray12]

@@PamDuthie fair enough. I'll just keep original art on Etsy and take my other art somewhere else

[@junejunejuniejune]

@@Dtgray12 about taking it "elsewhere" even just "making" fan art is considered illegal. which I believe is ridiculous depending on the product. like if you're selling mugs and tshirts where you've just printed a pic of someone's art on there, you didn't put any creative modifications, so understandably its stealing. BUT the grey area I don't understand is small handmade items that are clearly just inspired by something being considered illegal. You'll see on Etsy, lots of embroidered works based on scenes in movies. Embroidery takes a lot of work, requires making your own pattern, and it's a completely new conceptualization of the original material, which should mean it SHOULD fall under the category of fair use. But its complicated, and it depends on what you have sourced your idea from. Anything Disney is absolutely a no go. They sued a preschool for a painting of Micky on their wall. Ridiculous stuff. But other creative sources don't mind because it elevates them by having people make "illegal fan art". Its a big big grey area, some things are ok for others, some things that are modified could be deemed fair use, but it also could not. it's a gamble and very complicated, even Etsy basically says it's up to your own discretion. Etsy will not report you, it's up to the copyright owner to report you. Ive learnt just recently too that tags can get you in trouble. which I think ia crazy ridiculous. A really stupid (but real) example is....let's say you're selling baby onesies. the word "onesie" is actually trademarked by Gerber. and they can ask you to remove your post, even though it has nothing to do with their brand or product.

[@MorganPierce75]

Great video and information, thank you!

[@PamDuthie]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@KaiajuTekken78]

I'm using goku black for my doujinshi

[@larrifletcher4802]

what about people who are deceased like kobe bryant . Can his wife or estate sue.

[@geekish1290]

Eatsy though.

[@PamDuthie]

I think you meant to correct me with 'though' ? Most people pronounce it ehtsey

[@LindaWisdomphotography]

lol I thought I was the only one who noticed that!

[@fantasticmio]

Spoilers on the name . . . . . . . . His name is Grogu. Yeah... I think I'll stick with Baby Yoda!

[@PamDuthie]

:D