Is it illegal to make t shirts with sports teams and sell them?
Yes, it's illegal because it's an infringement on the team's logos, names and/or copyrights. Selling team colors is one thing but blatant name and logos of registered sports teams (national or local) can result in serious fines amounting to far more than your profits. If you are not sure of what you can and cannot sell, you should be consulting with an attorney that can help to legally and financially protect you. His or her professional service fees will be tax deductible as a business expense and will increase your income on the bottom line. If you don't have a business license, that in itself is illegal. If you are serious about making money then get serious about the business you want to go into. The problem with getting rich quick is that it takes so long. Steer clear of shortcuts to fame and fortune... work towards achieving your goals and educate yourself on legal and financial topics. When in doubt, call for professional attorney and accountant assistance.
Is it legal to use licensed cartoon characters on crafts that you want to sell?
Unfortunately, you can. The problem is *selling* items made with any images which are copyrighted, etc., though whether you *would probably* get in trouble in this situation is a different issue. Most companies won't go after (or even know about) smaller or one-time sales, but some are notorious for doing that even at craft fairs (like Disney). The same is true for other images --like school mascots (and even school colors when used in conjunction with anything school related that's sold), images created with rubberstamps (though there are many "angel" rubberstamp companies) and images from books, etc. --there are often a limited number of those that are allowed to be sold without specific permission however. (You can generally use those images for your own things --no selling or profitting-- but I think that even that is "technically" illegal.) I think the kids would go for other kinds of "character-y" pumpkins though, that weren't specific characters. In other words, just add your own weird decorations for accessories, faces, etc., and don't worry about trying to duplicate anything they already know (though you could grab a general idea here or there). HTH, Diane B.
Is it illegal to sell home-made tshirts with bands/artists printed on?
i'm tight for cash and thought about making up some tshirts with pictures/names of artists/bands. but i've been told that this is illegal? does anyone know about this? i just want to know where i stand with what i can and can't sell and i'm not sure where to find out this information. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Can I print a t-shirt of my online character and/or the game's logo for personal use without it being illegal?
Whoever designed the character owns the copyright in the design. Anyone else who copies it without consent infringes the copyright. If they feel their copyright has been infringed, they *can* take the infringer to court to stop them using the design and to claim any damages they have suffered as a result of the use .... but what damage have they actually suffered if you print it on one T-shirt? How would they ever know and, if they did, why would they bother since they have lost nothing by your action. If they sell T-shirts with this design on commercially, they are more likely to get upset ... as I'm sure you appreciate but,otherwise, I really wouldn't worry about it. EDIT: Just re-read your question. The game logo will almost certainly be registered as a trade mark. Any trade-mark owner will fiercely defend its trade mark, even against casual mis-use. My advice is NOT to reproduce any trade mark without permission.
Can you sell things or items with college logos without getting sued?
Only if you have permission. College logos are copyright. To make a copy of them you need the permission of the copyright owner. MOST colleges these days have an intellectual property office that will sell you a license to use their logo on merchandise. For example, here.... http://www.trademark.harvard.edu/ is the Harvard University Trademark Office. You can contact them and buy a license to use their logo. Richard
Is it illegal to put a brand on to another brand t shirt and sell it?
I'm having real trouble understanding you're question. If you have a blank tee and you put YOUR OWN brand on it and sell it, no problem whatsoever. If you put someone else's trademarked brand on it, you could have problems. If you're talking about making a tee shirt that says, I don't know, Yahoo!, or something, and selling it, Yahoo could sue you for your profits (all of them) but the likelihood of that is tiny unless you're selling enough of them to get someone's attention. If you change it in some way so that you're making a joke out of it or a critique of Yahoo (I'm reminded of the Marvel Can Suck My C*ck tee shirts in the 90s) then you're ~probably~ fine. Intellectual property is generally only protected if you're seeking to make money in exactly the same way that the owner uses that brand to make money. Like if you start selling tee shirts with Brad Pitt's head on them, he can sue you for infringing on his likeness rights. If you sell tees with Brad Pitt's head on them and you put the word 'Tool' under it, he probably can't sue, because you're making a comment. A similar thing is going on right now (unless it's already resolved) with that Hope Obama poster that was so popular. The thing is based on a picture that the artist did not take. So the question is whether he altered it enough that it became his own work. The short answer is: There's no short answer. But if you're only going to be selling fifty, a hundred, two hundred shirts, you probably don't need to worry because whoever you're ripping off won't care. UPDATE: Reading some of the other comments, I realize that there's another way to take your question. If what you're worried about is that the manufacturer of the shirt (like Fruit of the Loom, someone said) will sue you, you can stop worrying. And you don't need to remove the labels. A blank shirt is intended to have something put on it. You bought it. You can do what you like with it. The only thing I can think of where this might be a problem is with like food ingredients, (like you start an ice cream company like Ben and Jerry's and advertise that you use Oreos as an ingredient) but even there, I think you'd be safe.