![]() Trademark rights come from actual “use” (see below). ![]() Star Wars has 3,805 copyrights which include the movies, CDs, popup books and even the musical scores in the movies.Īccording to the trademarks office, trademark is “a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others…Unlike patents and copyrights, trademarks do not expire after a set term of years.Marvel Comics has 274 copyrights such as the titles of the specific comic books, movies, and even coloring books and crayons.Additionally they would not be found without using Star Wars in the title or tags because the search volume for “hoth” is probably pretty darn low! Copyright & Trademarks For Star Wars and Marvel ComicsĪccording to the Copyright office, copyright is “a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture.” source ![]() BUT no one would know about those places unless they were created by George Lucas in the first place. On the Etsy Facebook groups I follow I often find that Etsy sellers passionately trying to defend their use of trademarked materials by saying that they are making products that are “inspired by” Star Wars or other notable properties.įor example, those vintage travel posters ARE inspired by Star Wars in that there were never travel posters made in the films or books. There are 32,742 results for Spiderman on Etsy right now! etsy search for spiderman Here are some shocking numbers from doing an Etsy search… The rest are living on the edge and could be busted at any time. Some have obtained licensing from Disney for these properties (not many I am sure because that is super expensive, but does happen). Why are they able to make products and you can't? ![]() That said, MANY shops are using these characters currently which can be very frustrating. Please note: Baby Yoda is a protected character so do not make any products based on him!Īdditional Resource: Fans Sell Unauthorized Baby Yoda Merch – Disney Calls Copyright Infringement Most are currently “owned” by Disney which guards it's trademarks rigorously and could for sure cause problems if you get a cease and desist or trademark infringement through Etsy. In my post about avoiding problems with Disney characters I talked a lot about “public domain” and the fact that many of Disney's stories are based on fairy tales that were written years ago (sometimes centuries ago) and which had fallen out of copyright and into the public domain.Īlmost NONE of the Star Wars or Marvel Comics characters will fall into this category. An Overall Warning About Using Marvel Comics and Star Wars In Your Etsy Products Please do not take my word for this, if you have a question, research it yourself or retain legal counsel. This post will break down things to be aware of, what you can and can't do and how to use your titles and tags to get found for these types of products.ĭisclaimer… I am a marketing person, not a lawyer. If you are an Etsy seller and want to avoid getting your shop shut down, you need to know the “rules” of using Marvel Comics and Star Wars characters in your products.
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