So I make t-shirts with spray paint and stencils, and I love Calvin and Hobbes, so I made a stencil of the comic book characters based on the cover of the 10th anniversary edition collection (I'll include a picture below). What I want to know is whether it's legal to sell tshirts with that stencil. The stencil was hand-made, and everything is spray painted individually. Is it legal to sell "fan art"? and is this "fan art"? Please comment if you know something about whether this is legal Thanks. Also, ideas for more awesome stencils would be awesome! -Jordan (The t shirt I made)
Im not sure, I wouldnt sell them quite yet, Id google it, look on the books for copy right labels, etc. But other wise, Great Work
Copyright protects the actual artwork; trademarks protect the association between the artwork and a product or service. To make t-shirts or other merchandise featuring a graphic logo, you need permission from the creator of the logo and the trademark holder.
Crap... Bill Watterson has NEVER given permission for that You're sure there's no way around it, given that it's an artistic representation of the cover (though not changed substantially)?
it has nothing to do with him more of the brand. Given that the books are still published and what not, someone holds the trademark. Which means you would have to have permission from them. And even unaltered, the fact you sell it means you are gaining profit off of their work. And can then sue for loss of profit.
NOPE its copyright you need the permission of the owner of the imagery if you intend on selling it. the chances of you getting caught are very small but the consecquences are HUGE.
Yea after looking through like 6 wikipedia pages on copyright law, I don't see how this can be done That makes me sad. I love Calvin and Hobbes, and so do a lot of other people, and I'm sad that it was never licensed for anything like this. Oh well. Life is full of disappointments I guess. On to the next idea I suppose. If Justin or Jeremy are watching this thread and see this, can I have permission to create and sell EMC shirts?
That would be a great idea! I would buy one. Mabey you should make a thread after justin's permission and have a contest on who has the bestshrit udea, i know ill make one
Completely illegal unless you obtain permisson of the Copyright holder, which by the looks of things, you'd never get: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes#Merchandising
You probably can't sell them in mass amounts, as long as you don't sell like 2,000 of them and just sell them to friends or stuff, they probably won't sue you unless it becomes a major fad. Pretty sure the law covers if you are selling for a set price in a retail environment.