Help with copyright. Please post if you know :)

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by JabrZer0, Apr 27, 2012.

  1. 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)
  2. Aweosme t-shirt but i have no clue about copyright.
  3. 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 :)
  4. 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.
    YOU12MAEC and IPwnCreeps like this.
  5. Crap... Bill Watterson has NEVER given permission for that :p You're sure there's no way around it, given that it's an artistic representation of the cover (though not changed substantially)?
  6. Pretty legit, i think.
  7. Umm hes dead...
  8. *sadface* yea I know, but it doesn't matter. Copyright stuff lasts for a while I think :p
    Equinox_Boss likes this.
  9. Ya clavin and hobbes is the best
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Yea :p 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?
  13. 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
    Kells18 likes this.
  14. Equinox_Boss likes this.
  15. Sell tons of shirts, avoid jail, aquire weapons, murder cops and move to canada and eat pancakes. :3
    JabrZer0 and Equinox_Boss like this.
  16. 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.
  17. I
    l go for the pancakes :p