Dolphyngyrl

My friend loves disney so I was thinking of doing a mickey/minnie wallhanging for her wedding, I found a picture that I like that I want to base my quilt off of. If I am not mass producing or making it to sell can I still use the picture

connie_1936

will be watching for an answer.

dublb

I'm not sure but it sounds cute.

Charlee

~shrug~ How can they stop you?

I'm not positive, but I think you can use the image as a gift, without selling or mass producing it.

crochetetc

With Disney yes you can.

If you check the www.disboard.com you will see that posted in the artwork forum.

gaevren

Yep if you are gifting the item and not selling or being compensated for it it you're fine.

MelodyWB

Disney is touchy..they can't do anything if your giving it as a gift..if it's your design of something they did..don't post it here and call it Mickey Mouse..lol..just say.. gift for a friend..that's what the NFL told me years ago over Super Bowl sweats I made someone and a lady complained to them..they said I could make anything I wanted..just couldn't advertise it as a Super Bowl sweat for sale..then ask me if I was interested in a licence from them ($10,00.00) good for 5 years.. I think you probably don't want to know what I told them they could do with that licence..lol..!!

MsEithne

Disney owns the rights to copy (or not copy) any of their intellectual property. Hence the term "copyright."

It has nothing to do with whether you intend to keep it yourself, give it away or sell it. Disney owns the right to decide whether or not to copy a given piece of intellectual property.

Of course, the question is whether Disney can catch you in order to issue the cease and desist letter or take you to court. Realistically, it is unlikely but not completely impossible for someone to report your creation to Disney.

So in pragmatic terms, it comes down to your own ethical judgment. Do you feel okay doing something illegal and giving it as a gift?

If I sound a little grumpy about this, it is because I am an author (in a field unrelated to crafts) and have been ripped off many times. The people who have ripped me off would probably never dream of walking into my home, opening my purse and taking money out of it. But they are apparently okay with doing the equivalent with my intellectual property. My own personal (and probably biased) view is that theft is theft, whether it is the money from my purse or my intellectual property.

One legal way would be to write to Disney and ask for permission. Another legal way would be to buy a licensed Disney product that is close to what you want.

MelodyWB

I never thought of it that way..your right..my issue with the NFL.. was it was my design..their issue was the wording(Super Bowl) now if you buy Disney fabric then make something..is that the same..you already paid for the right to use it? I know you can ask them..I e-mailed Ricky Tims and he was a doll about using his stuff for a class..so maybe she should check into it more !!

MsEithne

So all the NFL wanted was for you to either cease using the words "Super Bowl" (which is actually trademarked rather than copyrighted) or buy their license in order to use them.

The problem for trademark holders is that if they do not go after every single violation of their trademark that they become aware of, then they are at risk of losing their trademark altogether. That requirement forces "big guys" like big corporations or famous authors like J.K.Rowling to act like heavies because they must pursue every violation they become aware of, no matter how trivial.

I am not a lawyer, just a grumpy author who was forced to learn about copyright. I may well have misunderstood what the lawyer I consulted meant or have misapplied the principles in law.

With that said, though, I believe that if you take a fabric with a design licensed by Disney, use it to make a quilt and then give that quilt away, you're fine. That is akin to buying a book and then giving it to another person. No actual proliferation of copies has occurred. That single object (length of fabric or book) has not been used to generate more copies; it exists as a single copy and has been passed along in that form.

In other words, you don't have to pay twice for one copy. And in fact, fair use says that you can make a xerox of part of a copy (say, a pattern out of a book or magazine) for your own personal use only. If you then sell that book or magazine, though, you have to either include the copy you made for personal use or destroy it. You cannot legally sell the original and keep a copy that you made for your own personal use.