Copyright

Copyright is serious business, so put your serious hat on when you read this page.

I want to talk to you about something that is unfortunately rife on the internet: People who steal my artwork and try to sell it as their own! Otherwise known as thieves, rippers, low-lives, scum,.. etc you get my drift. And I’m not the only one with this problem. Many other artists are battling with this too. So much so that we’ve banded together to combat these fraudsters.

I’m bringing this up for two reasons:

  • I don’t want to lose money/reputation for all my hard work
  • I don’t want you to receive shitty quality items of my artwork

I DO NOT sell my items on the following websites

no-amazon-aliexpress-ebay

What this means for you…

Please DO NOT buy any of my designs from AliExpress, Amazon* or Ebay. These items are not listed by me, and the seller does NOT have access to my high resolution image file so there is no way they can produce their items with good quality images.

There are many many other websites illegally selling my designs. If the site does not say the design is by me (SwanStarDesigns), then it is likely a counterfeit item! If in doubt please check my shops page, and if you’re still unsure just drop me a message.

A note about ebay: If a seller is selling a tshirt that they have previously bought from one of my shops or from one of the shirt-a-day sites, and they are simply selling their own personal stash of tshirts, then this is ok! It does not breach copyright any more than the next person who is selling their second hand gucci handbag. They might even be selling something that is brand new and never been worn, but this is still ok because they have already paid for the tshirt through official channels and they are not claiming the artwork as their own. IF they are claiming that the artwork is their own and they are printing/manufacturing the items themselves then this is NOT ok. 

*A note about Amazon: I’m testing out a small range of text-based tshirt designs on Amazon in my Merch by Amazon shop

But what about fan art?

Fan art is fan art. You can draw your favourite characters (brands, logos, sigils, signs and titles) until you’re blue in the face. But what you can’t do is profit from it! Once you try to sell fan art you’ve crossed the line. Don’t do it. Just don’t.

But so many other people sell fan art, why can’t I?

Because you’re not a sheep and you shouldn’t break the law. If you want to run the gauntlet, go right ahead, but you’re treading on outlaw territory and if the copyright holder has an issue with it you could be hit with full force! Ignorance will not save you.

Want to know more?

Check out this talk from Deviant Art at the San Diego Comic Con 2012 – via their YouTube Channel

Or Check out this interview with Rick Hoeg on Trent Kaniuga’s YouTube Channel