However, it is very likely that you will receive a legal cease and desist letter or email from the copyright owner`s lawyer. Tomy has to find a way to legally sell fan art on Etsy, as he has to pay a large number of fines and face various legal penalties. Therefore, he should keep a few things in mind: When Tomy scrolled down the page, he found “Analysis of the 100 best-selling products”. Sellers can analyze the sales ranking of the top 100 best-selling products based on the keyword “fan art.” When Tomy moves the mouse over each bar in the chart, he discovers the specific product. If you haven`t gotten explicit permission from the copyright holder, then yes, it`s illegal. The main reason why it is illegal is that you profit from the sale of copyrighted works without the artist`s permission and without paying him royalties. While you can avoid legal problems by selling your fan art in a royalty-free country, you`re also missing out on a lot of money, which is the main flaw in this method. Selling fan art boils down to this, if you sell and make a profit without getting permission from the copyright owner, you can be sued for infringement. An ideal solution is to sell fan art on a website that already has all the legal agreements in place. Otherwise, you should try to create completely original works without conditions. The main problem with selling fan art commissions is not only that they are illegal, but also that the creation of fan art can interfere with the sale of officially approved and licensed products.
There is no specific percentage at which someone could use fan art and later be protected by doctrine. It will not be a good defence if the case goes to court. Therefore, it is a total myth to rely on the percentage, given that no one guarantees that your users will be considered legal. While you may see a lot of people creating and selling fan art and merchandise based on it, that doesn`t make it legal. Also, some of the people you`ve seen selling fan art may have permission from the trademark owner. If you don`t, you expose yourself to legal risk. Regarding the sale of fan art orders, it must be understood that this action is on the one hand illegal and on the other hand hinders the sale of licensed products. What is illegal is that the person using it does not ask permission and does not pay the royalties. So, if you think about it, it is absolutely right that this action is illegal. The misconception that selling fan art is acceptable comes from the confusion surrounding the ownership of the work. There is a simple question you can answer to find out. Do you own the artwork? If so, then you have all the legal rights to sell, but if not, you are violating someone else`s work and should not sell anything without permission.
In summary, Tomy has gathered all the necessary keyword ideas around fan art. So, if he decides to sell fan art on Etsy, this data will be useful to him. However, if there is no claim of copyright infringement, Etsy has no way to intervene. Therefore, listing their products for sale does not make it legal to sell fan art on Etsy. So how can Tomy sell fan art without infringing copyright? In short, the sale of fan art is illegal unless proper permission is obtained from intellectual property or copyright holders. What do you think of fan art in Artist`s Alley? Do you think it`s normal for creators to get noticed by creating and selling fan art? Or do you think creators should use their own characters and stories to grab attention in the industry? Most people get away with selling fan-based visual art, as long as they don`t become too popular. While you can also get away with it for a while, that doesn`t mean you should try. There are always legal ways to do anything, and this article will show you the legal ways to make money with your impressive fan work. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, I have never practised as a lawyer and this opinion should not be considered legal advice. If you need professional legal advice, please consult a licensed attorney in your city or state that specializes in copyright. As you have seen, selling fan art on Etsy is considered illegal and it is possible that your products will be removed. That said, if they are considered a copyright infringement and a violation, they are not allowed on a site like Etsy because they take these things seriously.
In this article, you will learn some of the technical details of selling fan art. First, I`ll go over some of the legal complications that can arise from selling fan art. Next, I`ll show you how to get permission to create, promote, and sell your fan art while staying on the right side of the law. I personally know people who have been told by one of the “Big Two” to stop selling items. I even have personal experience in this area when it comes to getting too close to the line – in a parody that didn`t even use branded characters. So if Tomy combines Disney characters (or other copyrighted works) with his custom mugs without the owner`s permission, he breaks the rule and will be punished. Therefore, he should find the legal ways to sell fan art on Etsy. Selling your fan art through an online business that already has legal agreements in place with multiple companies and brands is an ideal solution if you like to create fan art and want to market it. In short, not getting the right permits, and therefore not offering a percentage of your income, makes it illegal to sell fan art that you produce. From this, it can be concluded that Etsy is not able to protect your products.
This also applies to the sale of fan art. Etsy will only review your products if there is a complaint. The problem with selling fan art is that most people who sell at conventions probably won`t call the original artist afterwards and won`t offer them a portion of their income.