Can You Sell Fan Art Legally
There are a few things you can do to sell fan art legally and not fall foul of the law.
Can you sell fan art legally. The term fan art has no legal standing. Fans get mad when you treat their peers in a way that looks like mean spirited big company sues little starving artist. How to sell fan art legally.
You can apply to the copyright owner for written permission or consent. For example if you post any funimation fan art you are more than likely to get striked for it because they don. I pretty much sell 90 fan art and a lot of artists do especially at conventions.
You don t sue people unless you can make money at it. You need to understand that selling fan art whether you can get away with it at a trade show on your website or without getting a cease and desist is not a good idea. Some anime shows have begun limiting the amount of fan art you can bring.
But mostly it s 1 and 2. If you want to create and or sell fan art legally it s good idea to start by watching the video and reading the articles referenced in this post which contain additional references and resources you can use to help stay on the legal side of fan art. It s like the old chestnut inspired by.
Only 30 of your prints can feature copyrighted characters or they ve limited the amount of an item featuring fan art that you can sell i e. It s basically saying yes i know i m creating something that someone else thought of first. The fair use doctrine takes into consideration whether the work was created for a nonprofit purpose and some courts place the most weight on the fourth factor the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The chances of this being granted to a small operator is very small. It all depends on how that particular company feels. Fair use does not protect those who sell the fan art or otherwise make money by using copyrighted work.
If you are breaching trademarks or copyrights yes it s illegal.