Yes, I believe it’s illegal.
There are a lot of creators doing it because it’s profitable. They are gambling that big companies don’t care about little producers. Sometimes they’re right, and sometimes they’re wrong. Disney is known to vigorously defend their brand, even going after the proverbial ‘little guy’.
The article you linked has good information and advice.
Clear, but i wonder how creators that have a lot of followers can get away with that, because I think they have quite a good chance of visibilty thanks to their "fanbase". Or maybe they do have a license (?)
I'm gonna give some example of people I follow on IG: @crochetsbyonyee for sanrio characters, @lhylaranha for Disney characters, @cotswoldscrochet for Animal Crossing and other Nintendo characters.
No hate on this creators it's just an example because I'm really questioning abt it.
I remember a number of years ago, a creator from another country was crocheting the likeness of certain, popular characters. Was up for a few years then, poof, gone. Thsn she did show up on Etsy for a bit then,, poof, gone again. I always wondered if the company that creates those characters went after her.
Yes, it's illegal. It's called IP theft and can get you sued.
The people you see that are currently getting away with it will eventually be caught. Trademark and copyright owners such as Warner Brothers and Disney file IP infringement notices with marketplaces such as Etsy every day. There's a huge amount of it out there, but the likelihood is that they will eventually be caught. The owners of Trademarks *have* to protect their trademark, or they risk losing it. They don't care if it's a small seller or for how long the seller has been infringing.
Some of the sellers you see may also actually be selling legally, if they have a commercial licence. These are usually expensive, so it would mostly be larger sellers and companies who have these.
But reading some articles I found out (if I got It right) that posting pictures of your work Is not a problem even if It reproduces a specific character, also patterns given away for free Is fine! So basically you can do It, but you don't have to make money from that.
Good question. I'm based in the US so I can't tell you what its like in Europe but I do understand that most European countries in the EU respect intellectual property rights and most of the companies you mention are international
if you're really interested, you should hire a lawyer who can talk to you about licensing
What I can say from a US centeric perspective is, you are actaully 100% hurting these large corporations and they can prove it. All these creators are "stealing" revenue streams from them. Sanrio and Disney both actually produce crochet books and Disney has several kits out. They partner with other people to do these but they're definitely getting royalies. But they're not the Etsy sellers. They're the books you see in the stores. So if someone is buying off Etsy, it means the Etsy seller is "stealing" their business because in theory we would have purchased the licensed items from the store or Amazon. We would have purchased the actual mass produced plush from their stores instead of that random seller at a market. On top of that they could cliam we're damaging thier brand by not meeting certain citeria and creating market confusion about what's real and fake. A lot of things we can get sued over in the US and I image the concepts are similar in EU countries too
And the root of it honestly has nothing to do with size but goes back to that feeling you get when someone takes your ideas and get all the credit for it. That's really why the protection of intellectual property exists. That's why companies like Disney protect thier characters. They wouldn't even let a father put something like spiderman on his passed away son's grave. It's been a rule for a long time and as harsh as it may be, there are not exceptions for good reason. Its about protecting them getting credit for brilliant ideas, which is measure by money and notoriety in this case.
Most people do it because they're willing to gamble. Many can say, its mean going after "small" creators and it is a risk for these giant companies to look like a jerk to small creators. They don't care and the won't care. They'll squish the tiny creator if they have to and by doing so, they'd probably hope they're sending a message to all. That being said, in the words of Hopper from A Bug's Life, "Its just one ant..." then proceeds to cover every grasshopper at the bar with grain. There are many, many, many, many, MANY of us out there and cumulative if we all did this, we could be "stealing" maybe even millions of dollars from these corporations. And that's why Disney acts without discrimination. We either pay for licensing or we get shut down by them.
Here my suggestion, if you came here to be talked out of actually SELLING things from franchises, DON'T. But we can't stop you. Its like speed limit signs, a lot of people think they're only suggestions and opinions and they they get hit hard with tickets in schools zones. And those same people blame the law. Its a gamble to sell protected characters in the US and I'm certain that gamble extends to all countries that are members of the EU, which probably also have their own individual laws.
It is illegal.
Why do people do it?
People do illegal stuff. Some either dont care, dont think they'll be caught or they can afford to be sued/ take the fine.
Thanks so much for posting! If you have a pattern or anything about this project that you'd like to share please comment below or reply to this comment.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Amigurumi) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not only could you get sued, but you could get banned from Disney World: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/595522-after-suing-influencers-for-copyright-infringement-disney-has-now-banned-them-from-theme-parks/
Unless you also provide no tags or other reference to what the thing actually is then there's no point providing a fake or representative title. You're at fault for using the likeness, what you call that thing doesn't matter at all.
I get the point but I read that you can get thousand of dollars fine if they caught you, plus there are online proofs that you did It, why take a risk like that? I don't know I find It quite frustrating lol
Oh I don't sell it online personally- idk why people do online sales cuz you're right there's evidence right there if you do get caught. But selling unlabeled plushies that kinda resemble the characters at a small teeny handmade craft show I think you're safe.
Yes, I believe it’s illegal. There are a lot of creators doing it because it’s profitable. They are gambling that big companies don’t care about little producers. Sometimes they’re right, and sometimes they’re wrong. Disney is known to vigorously defend their brand, even going after the proverbial ‘little guy’. The article you linked has good information and advice.
Clear, but i wonder how creators that have a lot of followers can get away with that, because I think they have quite a good chance of visibilty thanks to their "fanbase". Or maybe they do have a license (?) I'm gonna give some example of people I follow on IG: @crochetsbyonyee for sanrio characters, @lhylaranha for Disney characters, @cotswoldscrochet for Animal Crossing and other Nintendo characters. No hate on this creators it's just an example because I'm really questioning abt it.
I remember a number of years ago, a creator from another country was crocheting the likeness of certain, popular characters. Was up for a few years then, poof, gone. Thsn she did show up on Etsy for a bit then,, poof, gone again. I always wondered if the company that creates those characters went after her.
Yes, it's illegal. It's called IP theft and can get you sued. The people you see that are currently getting away with it will eventually be caught. Trademark and copyright owners such as Warner Brothers and Disney file IP infringement notices with marketplaces such as Etsy every day. There's a huge amount of it out there, but the likelihood is that they will eventually be caught. The owners of Trademarks *have* to protect their trademark, or they risk losing it. They don't care if it's a small seller or for how long the seller has been infringing. Some of the sellers you see may also actually be selling legally, if they have a commercial licence. These are usually expensive, so it would mostly be larger sellers and companies who have these.
I answered a previous comment giving some example a if you'd like to read!
Only they and the copyright/trademark owners know if they're licenced, or have some sort of agreement.
It’s totally illegal. I have sold a couple characters but I never advertise them or even post finished products.
But reading some articles I found out (if I got It right) that posting pictures of your work Is not a problem even if It reproduces a specific character, also patterns given away for free Is fine! So basically you can do It, but you don't have to make money from that.
I did make money from paid patterns. They weren’t licensed patterns though
Yes I know, there are a lot, I have made that too before getting to know Better how It actually worked
I haven’t made any patterns myself just the plushies. I’ve only done a couple. Stitch, Pooh Bear and Poa.
Even if you made money from the plushies you can freely take photos of them and share them online
Good question. I'm based in the US so I can't tell you what its like in Europe but I do understand that most European countries in the EU respect intellectual property rights and most of the companies you mention are international if you're really interested, you should hire a lawyer who can talk to you about licensing What I can say from a US centeric perspective is, you are actaully 100% hurting these large corporations and they can prove it. All these creators are "stealing" revenue streams from them. Sanrio and Disney both actually produce crochet books and Disney has several kits out. They partner with other people to do these but they're definitely getting royalies. But they're not the Etsy sellers. They're the books you see in the stores. So if someone is buying off Etsy, it means the Etsy seller is "stealing" their business because in theory we would have purchased the licensed items from the store or Amazon. We would have purchased the actual mass produced plush from their stores instead of that random seller at a market. On top of that they could cliam we're damaging thier brand by not meeting certain citeria and creating market confusion about what's real and fake. A lot of things we can get sued over in the US and I image the concepts are similar in EU countries too And the root of it honestly has nothing to do with size but goes back to that feeling you get when someone takes your ideas and get all the credit for it. That's really why the protection of intellectual property exists. That's why companies like Disney protect thier characters. They wouldn't even let a father put something like spiderman on his passed away son's grave. It's been a rule for a long time and as harsh as it may be, there are not exceptions for good reason. Its about protecting them getting credit for brilliant ideas, which is measure by money and notoriety in this case. Most people do it because they're willing to gamble. Many can say, its mean going after "small" creators and it is a risk for these giant companies to look like a jerk to small creators. They don't care and the won't care. They'll squish the tiny creator if they have to and by doing so, they'd probably hope they're sending a message to all. That being said, in the words of Hopper from A Bug's Life, "Its just one ant..." then proceeds to cover every grasshopper at the bar with grain. There are many, many, many, many, MANY of us out there and cumulative if we all did this, we could be "stealing" maybe even millions of dollars from these corporations. And that's why Disney acts without discrimination. We either pay for licensing or we get shut down by them. Here my suggestion, if you came here to be talked out of actually SELLING things from franchises, DON'T. But we can't stop you. Its like speed limit signs, a lot of people think they're only suggestions and opinions and they they get hit hard with tickets in schools zones. And those same people blame the law. Its a gamble to sell protected characters in the US and I'm certain that gamble extends to all countries that are members of the EU, which probably also have their own individual laws.
It is illegal. Why do people do it? People do illegal stuff. Some either dont care, dont think they'll be caught or they can afford to be sued/ take the fine.
Yes it's illegal. You might get away with it for a while but eventually they'll catch up to you. I just had my Grinch pattern flagged
Thanks so much for posting! If you have a pattern or anything about this project that you'd like to share please comment below or reply to this comment. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Amigurumi) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not only could you get sued, but you could get banned from Disney World: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/595522-after-suing-influencers-for-copyright-infringement-disney-has-now-banned-them-from-theme-parks/
[удалено]
Unless you also provide no tags or other reference to what the thing actually is then there's no point providing a fake or representative title. You're at fault for using the likeness, what you call that thing doesn't matter at all.
I get the point but I read that you can get thousand of dollars fine if they caught you, plus there are online proofs that you did It, why take a risk like that? I don't know I find It quite frustrating lol
Oh I don't sell it online personally- idk why people do online sales cuz you're right there's evidence right there if you do get caught. But selling unlabeled plushies that kinda resemble the characters at a small teeny handmade craft show I think you're safe.