Copyright Law And Fan Art
Very few copyright issues are as divisive or as headache inducing as fan creations.
Copyright law and fan art. Fan art is a drawing based on a character costume or location that is made without permission by the original creator. Fan fiction and fan art can be derivative works but they also may be protected by fair use. Even if you are not making money if the fan art interferes with the ability of whoever owns that work copyright owner to make money off the work this is also a problem.
It s good because allowing fan art keeps the fan base happy and fan art can be free promotion for the game movie tv show etc. A professional artist may consider it insulting to have their art referred to as fan art i mean no offense copyright law does not distinguish the work or professionals from amateurs and for the purpose of this blog. Happy enthusiastic fans spend money on games and merchandise.
If you are making money from fan art whether you are selling it or otherwise benefiting financially this is generally illegal unless you have permission from the copyright owner of course. Whether it is fan fiction for a popular fantasy series or fan art of a popular movie these creations almost instantly walk into a copyright mess that can be enough to make even the boldest attorney cringe. This law allows artists to build on existing works in creative and innovative ways.
Since i ve never fully educated myself on that either i took some time to actually read through relevant us copyright law and thought i might share what i learned with you guys so you can be informed as well. If you have ever created or enjoyed fan art whether you are an artist or simply an enthusiast please take a few minutes to read this.
