Fan Art Copyright
As fan labor fan art refers to artworks that are neither created nor normally commissioned or endorsed by the creators of the work from which the fan art derives.
Fan art copyright. 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. Fan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction and derived from a series character or other aspect of that work. Some copyright or trademark holders do not protect their position and others are quite active it protecting their rights.
However fan artists may be unaware of copyright law issues that may be implicated by fan created art fan art. 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. Fan fiction and fan art falls squarely into the murky realm of copyright and fair use.
A different older meaning of the term is used in science fiction fandom where fan art. Fan fiction and fan art can be derivative works but they also may be protected by fair use. 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. While many copyright holders like the companies who own doctor who zelda. So some listings will never get flagged.
Fair use does not protect those who sell the fan art or otherwise make money by using copyrighted work. The force awakens came out something happened that no one could have possibly predicted. Fan art is a drawing based on a character costume or location that is made without permission by the original creator.
Fan art that contains no copyright character and has no reference to the original inspiration is perfectly legal. It s bad because every instance of fan art is a copyright infringement. The fair use doctrine takes into consideration whether the work was created for a nonprofit purpose and some courts place the most weight on the fourth factor the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
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. 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. Very few copyright issues are as divisive or as headache inducing as fan creations.
Fan art is a double edged sword for owners of popular characters. Shortly after star wars.
