Note: Personally, before attempting to sell fan art, I’d recommend speaking with a qualified Copywrite attorney. Here, I’ll show you the processes of selling fan art legally, but it’s up to you to make sure that you’ve done everything you need to do to protect yourself from being sued. However, it’s a long process, and it’s not as easy as it may seem. Since it’s illegal to sell characters you created to mimic the work of other creators and artists, is there no way to sell fan art legally?įortunately, there are ways you can sell fan art legally without any risk of lawsuits or fines. If you continue to sell your fan art, the copyright owner may send a cease and desist letter, with guidelines outlining what they think you owe them for the copies you’ve already sold.Īlthough most companies won’t be willing to pursue a copyright case with someone who isn’t selling on a large scale, there are ways that they can shut down your private website or get you banned with the platforms your using to sell and display the work. If you’ve already sold some copies of your fan art illegally and unknowingly, it’s best to stop doing it once you know it’s illegal. It is, however, quite likely that you will receive a legal Cease and Desist letter or email from the copyright holder’s attorney. You can be in financial jeopardy from civil lawsuits, but it’s very unlikely that you’ll ever be arrested or imprisoned for making and selling fan art. It’s important to note that depending on where you live, selling fan art is usually not a criminal offense. Receiving a Cease and Desist Letter For Selling Fan Art Think about it the owner of the copyright can change their mind about pursuing the infringement at any time. If you’d rather stay on the right side of the law, you will want to stay away from selling and sharing the fan art you make, even if the copyright owner doesn’t seem to be interested in suing people who do. For instance, if you give your fan art away for free in large quantities or post it on social media, you may be harming the original creator’s ability to make money from their efforts. The original art creator may take legal action if they believe that your use of their work is illegal, and is preventing them from making more sales in any way. You don’t even have to sell the fan art you make to invoke a lawsuit. If you don’t, you are putting yourself in legal jeopardy. Also, some of the people you’ve seen selling fan art may have permission from the trademark owner. While you might see a lot of people creating and selling fan art and merch based on it, that doesn’t make it legal. While most creators will not go after every fan art creator with a lawsuit, it is important to know you’re breaking the law by selling an idea that isn’t original. While it is legal to create fan art, distributing and selling it is illegal (copyright infringement) and may invoke copyright lawsuits. There are always legal ways to do anything, and this post will show you the legal ways to make money from your impressive fan artwork. While you may also get away with it for some time, it doesn’t mean you should try. Most people get away with selling fan-based visual art as long as they don’t get too popular. According to copyright law, only the creator of these characters has the right to use them in this manner without permission. You can also create t-shirts with the image of your favorite character, etc.Įach of these is a different way of selling fan art, and they’re mostly illegal. For example, you may create an artwork based on your favorite comic book character then sell it off as a separate comic, creation, or decorative work of art. More recently, fans have started selling unofficial fan art for money. Some authors and artists even encourage their followers to make and share fan art of their characters by promoting the fan art in the original work itself. People have created fan art of their favorite characters as far back as comics and fan fiction have existed. Before going into the technicalities of making and selling fan art, it’s important to know some basic details about fan art.Īny fictional character that’s based on the works of someone else can be referred to as fan art.
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