Monday, February 21, 2011

Re: Famous Characters

Recently, I've received requests to design famous iconic characters as well as some Video Gaming characters. Thank you for your confidence, however, I must decline.

These iconic characters, most of which fall under 'Trademark' and/or  'Service Marks', could, potentially have some serious ramifications from larger companies like Disney, Paws, Inc/Jim Davis, Capcom, etc.
TradeMark is taken just as serious, if not more so than Copyright - as these characters are the 'bread and butter' for a company - infringing on those marks could potentially cause monetary loss, lack of quality control and/or  loss of sponsorship/approval of goods.  Trademarks, essentially, make it easier for consumers to identify the source of any given good, companies are not willing to give up their exclusivity easily (or cheaply).

For this reason, it is not beneficial for me to take the time it needs to design, test and prepare a quality product for retail sale.  While I cannot say it will never happen, as there is currently a "Hello Kitty" which is awaiting a stitch job and some facial features - only characters which my children have asked for would stand a chance of being made.

Any iconic 'tributary' designs, will always be made available for FREE on my blog and therefore 'orders' or 'requests' for such items are strictly designed or ignored at my discretion. 

For those who insist, "so-and-so sells this-or-that and they don't have problems."  
I have a few friends (one very close) who've recently been reprimanded by legal advisories from companies such as Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation for items which were listed on etsy and that can no longer be advertised as previously done.  
I am simply not willing to put the FiberDoodles by K4TT name in the line of fire, for a potential legal actions.