Licensing?

[thought_bubbls]

Quick question!  I've kind of fallen into invitation designing for things like showers, birthdays, holiday parties, etc.  What happens when someone requests an invite featuring licensed characters?  Like Disney, for example?  Do I have to pay some kind of licensing fee to use the characters?  Can someone point me to a website with more info on this

Comments

[amanda_now]

You're supposed to, yes, because doing otherwise is copyright infringement. But if you're selling 50 invites for a kid's birthday party, for the most part Disney isn't going to hunt you down for using your own artwork featuring Rapunzel at the parent's request. Obviously don't use those in your public online portfolio and don't set up a shop with a "Disney's Tangled Rapunzel Birthday Invitations" page.

But as far as reaching out to those companies, I wouldn't know and I imagine it's probably cost prohibitive for a small business.

[thetar]

if you dont own it, dont use it, is a pretty good rule of thumb. and even in this case recreating the art will still get you in trouble. it is best to avoid it altogether and say that is something you do not do and there are places for consumers to buy legitimate licensed materials.

otherwise i will say copyright infringement can cost you a pretty serious amount of cash by the time your done with lawyers fees and if any judgement is weighed.

[thought_bubbls]

I agree but how would I go about using licensed characters? Legally. I see so many people selling this kind of thing on etsy so there must be a way. I've tried messaging a few sellers there but haven't had a response yet.

[rusti_knight]

*some* sellers on etsy have agreements to use the imagery, but I would say that the majority do not, which is why those sellers have probably not answered you.

[nippyfrog]

Well, for something this small you could probably just let it slide.
If you're interested in getting licensing rights you just contact the marketing departments. Shoot them an email. There are people whose entire job is just to set up license agreements.
It's typically something like 6% of profit.

[67words]

Unless you have an agreement with the license holder, you cannot use it. (For most things, this would be pretty expensive on the off chance they did want to enter an agreement with you.) I'm shocked at some of the replies. It's illegal and unethical.

[maxkststa]

Thank you for sharing