Fan Art Copyright Laws

Fan fiction and fan art can be derivative works but they also may be protected by fair use. However fan artists may be unaware of copyright law issues that may be implicated by fan created art fan art. Fair use does not protect those who sell the fan art or otherwise make money by using copyrighted work.

yuri fanart scary zeus fanart percy jackson zoe fanart dear evan hansen fanart yuri plisetsky yuri on ice fanart yuna ffx fanart zoom fanart zora tobot galaxy fanart yuri on ice yuri and victor fanart

This law allows artists to build on existing works in creative and innovative ways.

Fan art copyright laws. Fair use is part of the copyright laws that acknowledges the fact that many works are inspired by past art. 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. 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.

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. Fan art can be considered a derivative work therefore most fan art is an infringement of dc s copyright. Those that pay direct homage to the very characters and storylines created by the copyright holders.

While many copyright holders like the companies who own doctor who zelda. Happy enthusiastic fans spend money on games and merchandise. 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.

It s bad because every instance of fan art is a copyright infringement. But copyright law has a doctrine called fair use that in the name of free speech protects certain uses that would otherwise be an infringement. So the law has addressed some aspects of fan art notably critical parody and transformative work which however requires case by case analysis for determination but not the most common forms of fan art.

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. 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.

Source : bestanimeimage.com