QA

How To Get License To Sell Fan Art

The main way to get permission to sell fan art is to obtain a license from the copyright holder. For most artists who create fan art and do not expect to have the volumes of sales to support the cost of a license there is also the option of paying royalties through a site such as RedBubble.com.

How can I legally sell fan art?

How To Sell Fan Art Legally You can apply to the copyright owner for written permission or consent. List your art for sale on a site such as Redbubble, who already have implemented the processes to collect royalties on your behalf for specific copyright owners.

Is it illegal to sell fan art on Etsy?

Originally Answered: Is selling fan art in an Etsy shop illegal? If you are breaching trademarks or copyrights, yes, it’s illegal. The term “fan art” has no legal standing.

Is it legal to sell fan art of celebrities?

But is it okay to sell celebrity portraits? You should avoid selling celebrity portraits unless you have permission to do so. In most states, you have a “Right of Publicity” which prohibits anyone from selling or exploiting your name, likeness, or personal features without your consent.

Is creating fan art illegal?

Technically speaking, there’s nothing illegal in the US about making and selling fan art because copyright isn’t enforced criminally. Rather, copyright owners enforce their rights by suing infringers in federal civil court.

How do I avoid copyright on Etsy?

Don’t Use Artwork That Isn’t Yours! Copyright law centers around the protection of someone’s creative work – and that includes art. Don’t use artwork from the Internet without an artist’s permission and then reproduce it on t-shirts, jewelry or other paraphernalia.

Can companies use fan art?

Is fan art legal? 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).

Can you sell fan art on ebay?

Reproductions – You can sell reproductions, like posters or exact replica paintings, if it doesn’t violate laws, copyrights, or trademarks. Other artists’ work – You may include the artist’s name in the title if the work is actually by the artist or is an exact replica of the artist’s work.

Can I sell Disney fanart?

You cannot sell your drawings of Disney characters because, by doing so, you would be infringing on The Walt Disney Company’s copyrights and trademarks. These characters are their intellectual property. If you want to sell your Disney artwork, you have to secure a license from them.

Can I paint a picture of someone famous and sell it?

You can sell a fine art painting of a celebrity as long as it is a transformative work of art. This means it needs to be artistic in nature, not just a faithful likeness. The painting cannot copy an existing work of art (including a photo), and cannot interfere with a celebrity’s “right of publicity”.

Is it legal to sell fan art on RedBubble?

Fanart on Redbubble is not legal but anime fanart usually isn’t dealt with by the original creators for a bunch of reasons. One, the fanart people make is often of something the creator would not release official merch for, like maybe a ship fanart for a fanon ship.

Can you draw someone without permission?

“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.

Is it legal to post fan art on Instagram?

Fan art is fine as long as you are not profiting from it. Same for “derivative” and “fair use”.

What qualifies as fan art?

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. As fan labor, fan art refers to artworks that are neither created nor (normally) commissioned or endorsed by the creators of the work from which the fan art derives.

Can you draw characters and sell them?

The laws say you are not allowed to profit off of someone’s copyrighted characters. The only way you can be sure is if you have written permission from the copyright holder. They can still go after you if you are creating derivative works from copyrighted characters.

Can I be sued on Etsy?

Well, given that copyright law is no-fault, then anytime a user uploads infringing content to companies like Etsy, YouTube, or Vimeo, they could be sued.

Can you get in trouble on Etsy?

When we receive repeat notices of infringement regarding a particular shop, allowing the shop owner to continue selling can put Etsy at serious risk. Even if the seller doesn’t post that particular item ever again, it’s possible that other items in that shop may also have problems.

How many copyright strikes can you get on Etsy?

Etsy has a 3 strikes and you’re out policy.

Is fan art subject to copyright?

Fan art can be considered a derivative work, therefore most fan art is an infringement of DC’s copyright. BUT, copyright law has a doctrine called “fair use” that (in the name of free speech) protects certain uses that would otherwise be an infringement.

Are fan animations legal?

Basically, if someone who didn’t know any better could look at a piece fan art and not know that it wasn’t “official” or “canon,” it’s probably illegal. Fan art can be protected under fair use (refer to the 4 criteria in the “fair use” section to refresh your memory), it just often isn’t.

Are fan films legal?

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.