If you're planning on selling Disney products or characters, you must obtain an official license from the Walt Disney Company. This means that your product must be expressly authorized by the company to be sold legally; without this authorization, you may face hefty fines and other legal consequences.

Can I use Disney characters on my products?

Fan art and merchandise: Creating and selling fan art or merchandise featuring Disney characters without proper licensing can be considered copyright infringement. While fan art for personal use is generally acceptable, selling products with copyrighted characters can lead to legal issues.

How do I get permission to use Disney characters?

You may receive permission from Disney by email or mail. If you or your company wants to use Disney characters on a long-term basis, Disney might require a licensing agreement, which involves the payment for the rights to use the characters. Disney can also decline to give permission for the use of its characters.

How much does it cost to license a Disney character?

From what I have read the licenses start at around $10,000 for each item you want to make, plus a percentage of each sale.

Can I print Disney characters and sell them?

Yes, shops are not allowed to sell items based on Disney or other copyrighted characters. Etsy does not police this though, unless the copyright holder complains. Those shops are however taking a big risk as Etsy could completely shut down their shop and/or the copyright holder cold file a lawsuit.

Can I create and sell Marvel, DC, and Disney brand inspired products?

Can you use Disney characters to make money?

To utilise Disney characters without violating their rights, you must obtain permission from The Walt Disney Company or its subsidiaries. Its characters are protected by copyright and trademark laws, and unauthorised use can lead to legal consequences.

What Disney characters are copyright free?

Can I put the word Disney on a shirt?

Using Disney trademarks (the words “Disney”, “Mickey Mouse” etc) anywhere in the listing (title, description and tags) is trademark infringement. It doesn't even matter what the item is or whether it uses any Disney characters.

Am I allowed to paint Disney characters?

Disney's drawings of Disney characters are copyrighted for 95 years after they are first published. If you were to copy or make derivative works from those drawings without Disney's permission, you would be infringing their copyright.

Can I put Disney characters on a shirt and sell it?

If you're planning on selling Disney products or characters, you must obtain an official license from the Walt Disney Company. This means that your product must be expressly authorized by the company to be sold legally; without this authorization, you may face hefty fines and other legal consequences.

Can I sell something with a cartoon character on it?

Any trademark or copyrighted character is not fair game, but some people get away with it for a long time and then some of them get in big trouble, at the very least get a cease and desist order at worst get taken to court and sued for damages.

Can you sell cookies with Disney characters?

You can say, clear as day, that you are not affiliated with Disney. But if you make a cookie of a Disney princess, then you are probably violating Disney's copyright even if you aren't violating their trademark.

How do I get permission to sell Disney products?

Please visit licensing.disney.com/licensee-requirements for the licensee requirements or contact us about licensing related queries.

Can I legally sell Disney fan art?

Technically speaking, there's nothing illegal in the US about making and selling fan art because copyright isn't enforced criminally. Rather, copyright owners enforce their rights by suing infringers in federal civil court. If they win, they could get money from you.

Can I paint a picture of Mickey Mouse and sell it?

The Disney characters are trademarks belonging to the The Walt Disney Company and its affiliates. So painting them in your paintings would infringe on their trademark rights.

How do sellers on Etsy avoid copyright infringement?

Don't Copy Another Seller's Listing Information

Create your own unique and original product descriptions when you add products to your store to avoid receiving a copyright infringement notice from Etsy. You're free to take inspiration from other Etsy shops.

How do you avoid copyright infringement on t shirts?

Focus On Creating Original Designs From Scratch

The best tip that we can give to limit any designers or business owners from mistaken copyright infringement lawsuits is to create your own t-shirt, plain and simple. Avoid derivative work and make original designs that are unique.

What can I put on a shirt without copyright?

But for a safe answer: you can print anything on a t-shirt that is under public domain without infringing copyright laws. Public domain includes artworks that have expired from their copyright. For example, Vincent Van Gough's Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (1887) was released into the public domain by the met in 2017.

Is The Little Mermaid in the public domain?

The original Little Mermaid story or 'Den lille havfrue' was published in 1837 and has long since been in the public domain. In 1989 Disney Studios took advantage of the fact that this literary work was in the public domain and released their animated movie.

Is Tom and Jerry Cat and Mouse public domain?

Today, animation historians refer to the original Tom and Jerry characters as Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry. Today, all of these cartoons are in the public domain.

What characters is Disney losing rights to?

According to US copyright law, the rights for a character expire 95 years after the publication of the original work. Disney will lose the Mickey Mouse copyright for Steamboat Willie in 2024, since the short animated film was produced and distributed in 1928.

Can I sell crochet Disney characters?

(Caveat: it's OK to design a Disney character pattern for personal use. It's not OK to profit from it) Additionally, if you purchase a licensed pattern…you've seen them at Barnes and Noble, right, the mini Star Wars patterns and such… unless specifically granted permission, you can not profit from the finished product.

Can I crochet Disney characters and sell them?

Not only is it illegal to sell any merchandise with a licensed character on it, but doing so can be detrimental to your business.

Can you sell Mickey ears on Etsy?

Yes, you can sell Mickey Mouse ears on Etsy. However, there are a few things you need to take into account before doing so. Firstly, it's important to check whether or not your chosen platform allows the sale of Disney-licensed merchandise.

How do I get permission to use licensed characters?