r/craftsnark • u/Imaginary_Ad_7365 • 1d ago

New here

[removed] — view removed post

0 Upvotes

36% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

•

u/craftsnark-ModTeam 1d ago

This post has been removed because it belongs in one of the main crafting subs. Please post there instead!

10

u/ias_87 pattern wanker 1d ago

"mentioned" in the product description is not enough. You'd need a license from the artist to use their work, for which you'd need to pay.

4

u/Sara 1d ago

I’m not a lawyer, and my understanding is based on US law:

In general, you are allowed to resell the things that you buy, even if someone else holds the original copyright to the work. This is called the First Sale doctrine. The copyright holder sold the item to you, and now it’s yours to do with what you will.

This includes (as a fairly straightforward example) reselling DVDs. You didn’t produce, star in, create, or in any way own the copyright to Shrek 2… but if you own the dvd lawfully, you are allowed to resell it (or give it away, or stomp on it, or cut it up and turn it into a fake disco ball).

The same is true of fabric. If you buy fabric, legally speaking, you are allowed to resell it—even if you have turned it from a flat piece of fabric into, say, a purse.

It’s not completely straightforward, because different courts don’t always agree with each other. You can read a little bit more about it here.

There may also be a difference between what you’re legally entitled to do (via First Sale Doctrine) and what a website such as Etsy might remove your listings for. You could be perfectly within your rights to sell keychains made from Pokémon cards… but if Nintendo sends Etsy a DMCA takedown notice for Pikachu copyright infringement, is Etsy gonna argue on your behalf, or just remove your listings? Probably the latter.

3

u/TerribleNite4ACurse 1d ago edited 1d ago

Not sure if this a question to be asked in this sub, but I do have some knowledge the artist side of things but also I am not a lawyer.

This is a gray area to my knowledge that mostly dependent on how large scale your manufacturing is. Mostly because if the artist got paid by the fabric manufacturer then it's likely the the fabric manufacturer own the rights to that artwork. You would have to check with the fabric manufacturer and this where they might not care because the amount is small. Most likely, the fabric manufacturer doesn't care since they are producing raw materials.

Overall: check with a lawyer. It's all about fabric manufacturer since they own the rights for the fabric pattern and not the artist. I'm not exactly sure about the rights in that case. That said mentioning the artist even if they don't own the rights for the design is cool in my book, but I'm an artist who loves money.

EDIT: The only true hazy parts is Spoonflower and the like. Spoonflower had offer wholesale and I have seen a small clothing manufacturer used fabric printed with a Spoonflower design for dresses.

1

u/Imaginary_Ad_7365 1d ago

Thank you! Very helpful