![]() “ This is original work – no-one owns the right to the idea of mashing Star Wars together with Minions – and as such it produces a funny and original parody and represents a ‘fair use’ of any existing copyright or trademark”īut I don’t think that would stand up in any court. ![]() The defence in such a case would go something like this: So for a live example of a mash-up – how about Star Wars + Minions = this.Īlmost certainly not – but again – fair use is determined in a court, and if there is no court case brought, the design hangs in a kind of ‘fair use purgatory’ where nobody knows for sure. (be sure to visit for more great comics like that!). It’s an incredibly popular way to produce designs – because it requires relatively little effort (at least in the ideas department) and allows designers to trade off the brand equity of existing franchises.įor a visual representation of why mash-ups are so popular amongst T-Shirt designers – see the owlturd cartoon below: What About Mash-Ups?Ī ‘mash-up’ design is when someone takes two franchises, properties or characters and ‘mashes’ them together. What this means is that Redbubble or TeeFury (for example) will not act as legal protection for you should a company or individual wish to sue you. It simply means that the website will sell it – and they can (and will have to) take it down if a rights holder issues a Cease and Desist request.įurthermore a website or marketplace takes no ownership of copyright when you sell on their site: copyright of the work stays with you. This brings us to another important concept to understand: getting your design ‘approved’ or ‘selected’ by a T-Shirt site doesn’t grant your design some automatic immunity from copyright claims. A Website Rejected My Design Citing Copyright Concerns – But I Think It Is Fair Use / Parody!Īny website / company can refuse to list, sell or host your design – should they wish to do so. Again, to determine whether your design is ‘fair use’ would have to be determined in court – which we want to avoid. Political figures are generally considered fair game – and as such represent a much safer topic for your biting satire and parody designs.Ĭelebrities on the other hand are not fair game, and use of a celebrities image or likeness is technically Copyright Infringement, whether it is a ‘parody’ or ‘satire’ or not. What About Celebrities or Political Figures? already makes income from T-Shirts: either directly or through licensing agreementsĪnd perhaps most importantly: Don’t use the company’s name (or brand / franchise name) in your design’s title, descriptions or tags.has a history of taking copyright infringers to court.is likely to consider your parody design a personal insult or libellous.is likely to see or find your parody design with ease.My advice is don’t parody any person or company that: It’s only once that trial begins that you will be able to use the ‘Parody’ defence, and of course you don’t want to be in that situation in the first place. If the person or company you parodied wants to take you to court (and has the resources to do so) then they will. But just because your design is a ‘parody’ – that doesn’t mean you get a free pass on potential copyright infringement.Īnd anytime you design something that relies on the Intellectual Property of another person or company (whether that be a logo, character, phrase or likeness) – you are potentially breaking copyright law. But again – the only person who can ultimately decide whether a design is a ‘parody’ and therefore is legitimate fair use – is a judge or jury.įor a good overview of these concepts and a taste of what it feels like to be sued over your work, check out this video from h3h3: Parody is one of the potential reasons that a design may be considered ‘fair use’. It’s a legal defence term, and there’s no hard and fast rules that I can give you that will ensure your design never lands you in court – or that ensures that once you’re in court, you get a ‘not guilty’. Or to put it another way: you can’t tell me (and I can’t tell you) what is fair use and what isn’t. The only way to know whether a design falls under ‘fair use’ is to determine that in court. One of the biggest misconceptions / misunderstandings around Parody and Fair Use is that it’s ‘legal’. A Parody Design Is ‘Fair Use’ And Is Therefore Legal, Right? For professional legal advice please contact a lawyer. ![]() This is not legal advice and should not be treated as such. This week we’re going to dig a little deeper and focus on an area that causes particular confusion: Parody and Fair Use. Last week I published a basic introduction to Copyright for T-Shirt designers. ![]() ![]() Parody, Fair Use and Mash-Ups: More Copyright Info For T-Shirt Designers ![]()
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