hello everyone! i’ve seen more and more posts revolving around a big copyrighted company, like tester calls or collaborations for pokemon (just to name a few). i’m sure most of you know about copyright, but for those who don’t, i’d like to run it down for you.
any copyrighted company has the right and ability to sue if found that you stole something without express permission from that company. it does not matter what age, nor if you change the name of a pattern, or just call it fanart. it is not an original piece and without permission is illegal.
if you really want to make a pattern for something copyrighted, try asking permission. most likely they won’t answer/not approve, but it’s always worth a shot and is better than possibly getting sued. people’s shops, listings and more have been taken down by companies because of copyright.
the same goes for if you are using a drawing done by someone else to make a pattern. even if you draw the drawing again yourself it is still not yours and you do not have the rights to post a pattern for it without permission. giving credit to the artist does not excuse making the pattern if you did not get permission.
please take this into consideration before posting any patterns! happy crafting 
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oh, and feel free to say more if you have anything else to say about copyright! i’m not all-knowing but that does not mean that everything i say is false either.
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Wow this is really helpful tysm so, we shouldn’t take photos from the internet for reference in collabs?
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without expressed permission no. if you were to draw the images yourself—no, not redrawing the image—then yes, it would be fine since it is your original piece. thank you for asking!
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Sooo if we redraw the image it’s fine? So sorry I didn’t really get it
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no, redrawing the image is not fine. but making your own image from your imagination is okay. and it’s fine that you don’t understand this immediately!
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Oh oh ok yes that makes sense, that’s why I was confused when I thought you said we could redraw it lol tysm
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It is okay to use references, but you need many different references of different artists, different things. If I wanted to go on pintrest and be inspired to make something based off of pinterest I would usually find like 10 images at least. It is not okay to directly copy or only use one reference. And if you use references, it doesn’t hurt to credit the people who own what you referenced!
-Somebody who spends way too much time watching art drama stuff. Soo it’s probably mostly for the illustration community.
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yes! thanks, i agree with this. i forgot to include that, so thank you so much for replying this!
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I’m so glad you posted this.
I used to post patterns and plushies based on video game characters…until May 2024. This was when I found out that selling those things will put my business at risk for copyright infringement. I could have been sued, my shops could have been shut down, and it would have caused a huge impact not just on me, but my family as well.
Unfortunately, even though I did the right thing, all I’ve been getting since then were people asking where my video game themed patterns and plushies were. They were all like “We’re huge fans!” or “They’re amazing!” or “I can’t find them anywhere. Are they still available for purchase?” And sometimes, they say it’s too bad that I took them down, despite telling them the consequences, and how it could’ve been much worse. I feel like they go through my shops without noticing how much creativity I put into my own work.
I still don’t regret what I’ve done, though. My business is no longer at risk, and I think my creativity has greatly improved, especially for my collections and seasonal times. Please, PLEASE…if you ever discover my shops and my website, please take your time to look through what I had made. This will definitely help my small business!
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