Crochet actual people

[Dora J. Momoa]

Hello

I have been crocheting for a while now and I was thinking of some new ideas for my dolls.
I am interested to know if there is any problem if  I crochet actual people like for example Youtubers(my brother likes some in particular so  since I was going to make some dolls for him I thought of this), maybe some other famous person if I get requests.

Is this okay? I was thinking of maybe making some video tutorials on how to make them.
I have my own patterns that I've written myself, so I wouldn't be using someone else's work in any of my dolls. 

This is more for fun actually but I could maybe sell the doll if someone is interested in buying it.
It's just that I have so many people in mind that I can't possibly ask each one if they would be okay with me making a crochet doll inspired by them(so far even those that I have asked haven't responded)

I just really want to do this but on the other hand I don't want to cause  any problems.

Thank you!

 

Dora 

[Tampa Doll]

My understanding is that if you do not share or sell  the pattern or the likeness of anyone famous, you should be ok. 

[Dora J. Momoa]

My understanding is that if you do not share or sell  the pattern or the likeness of anyone famous, you should be ok. 

Hi

Thanks for replying.

I want to post the pictures and maybe video tutorials online, that's why I am concerned about it.

I've seen people sell both dolls and patterns based on actors and singers not just fictional tv characters, but I just wanted to know for certain it would be okay doing that myself.

Anyway, thanks!

Have a good day.

[Avon Lady]

This would probably be a question Amy could answer better than anyone else.  Amy?

[Granny Square]

I think creating your own 'artwork' of someone famous, or a famous fictional character and sharing the likeness on Facebook is probably OK, but creating & sharing a pattern (even for free), without the person's permission, or permission of the trademark holder of the fictional character, is definitely not OK.

 

An exception might be for a fictional character in the public domain (from books written prior to ~1920 like King Arthur, Huck Finn, the Musketeers), but then you could get into trouble if it resembled an actor or cartoon portrayal of that character in a movie.  

 

Someone on this  board got into trouble a few years ago because she designed a very generic pig toy pattern for sale. She was chased legally by the trademark owner of a specific pig cartoon character ( I can't remember, not  Peppa or Porky though).  And the weird thing was, her toy didn't remotely resemble this character except in general pigness.

[Dora J. Momoa]

I think creating your own 'artwork' of someone famous, or a famous fictional character and sharing the likeness on Facebook is probably OK, but creating & sharing a pattern (even for free), without the person's permission, or permission of the trademark holder of the fictional character, is definitely not OK.

 

An exception might be for a fictional character in the public domain (from books written prior to ~1920 like King Arthur, Huck Finn, the Musketeers), but then you could get into trouble if it resembled an actor or cartoon portrayal of that character in a movie.  

 

Someone on this  board got into trouble a few years ago because she designed a very generic pig toy pattern for sale. She was chased legally by the trademark owner of a specific pig cartoon character ( I can't remember, not  Peppa or Porky though).  And the weird thing was, her toy didn't remotely resemble this character except in general pigness.

Oh wow, 

that's pretty serious :/.

Good thing I asked.

It's just that I've seen people make for example dolls of tv characters like Naruto, Doctor Who, Hello kitty, Spongebob,  and many other shows and they sell not only the doll but also the pattern. 

Anyway, I guess I'll stick to my original dolls, they don't resemble anyone at least. I'll also just post pictures of my dolls maybe on Pinterest at max, but not for sale and neither the pattern.

Thank you very much for your answer, I really appreciate it! 

 

[snowbear]

Hey, What kind of dolls do you crochet? I crochet dolls. But I do characters. I read what you said. I am glad you posted that. I didn't know that either. I appreciate you sharing with us. I guess I am not sure of what dolls now. I guess when I get patterns That is what I will do. I am not sure now. I have no doll patterns.  Except what I can find online; Please let me know.

[Dora J. Momoa]

Hey, What kind of dolls do you crochet? I crochet dolls. But I do characters. I read what you said. I am glad you posted that. I didn't know that either. I appreciate you sharing with us. I guess I am not sure of what dolls now. I guess when I get patterns That is what I will do. I am not sure now. I have no doll patterns.  Except what I can find online; Please let me know.

 

Hi, I'm assuming this is for me.(Ignore it if it's not, sorry)

I want to crochet characters as well. For example some anime characters that I prefer and maybe some tv series and books characters. You know, characters I like. I have so far made a Hinata doll from Naruto (sorry, I'm really into anime) and a mini Harry Potter doll.

I don't intend selling patterns of actual people or characters, I was just wondering if I can sell the dolls after I make them, that's all.

 

Or if I get a request for a specific doll sell that. I make the dolls myself so it's not like I'm mass producing a particular doll. I get the problem it could cause with actual people(I won't do it), but I don't see the problem on fictional tv characters like cartoons or movies and books.

I've seen people online   sell tv characters (Spongebob, Harry Potter, some actors, Frozen characters everywhere, Disney characters etc.) and even patterns of them not just the dolls and I don't think anyone has gone after them. 

I just don't know what to do anymore. I love crocheting dolls but it's not like I can afford to keep making dolls out of my money and also keep all the dolls.

I think I would be okay selling some at my local craft fairs, I only charge like 5 dollars for a doll, just so that I can afford to buy the materials, but I wanted to give internet selling a try since there might be a better chance for my dolls to sell. Where I live people don't really appreciate them, even at that price it's still expensive to them.

 

 And I was just curious about the people version, I actually want to crochet characters but since some of them are played by actors, they're not animated, I wondered if that would be okay.

I'll stick to my original dolls I guess. I wanted to design some patterns on cats and dogs since I wanted a more realistic outcome on them, but now I'm worried someone might come after me legally because it might resemble their cat. The story about  the pig pattern was absurd, I feel really sorry for her. Ridiculous! 

What kind of dolls do you make? Could you share some pictures? I love seeing other people's work

 

Thanks!

Sorry for the long reply! 

 

[magiccrochetfan]

 I wanted to design some patterns on cats and dogs since I wanted a more realistic outcome on them, but now I'm worried someone might come after me legally because it might resemble their cat.

 

The issue with reproducing a cartoon character or character from a movie or book, is that the contents are copyrighted or trademarked and the holder of the trademark/copyright is the only one who can legally distribute the image.  Unless someone has trademarked their cat, and you copy that cat, there is nothing to worry about.  You would be safe in making up your own cat image.  In fact, you can make up your own image of whatever you want, as long as the whole thing is your own original idea, and is not copied from anything else.  And you can sell items you make from those completely original designs.  

 

If you search around on the forums, there are informative previous discussions about copyright, trademark etc.  

[Dora J. Momoa]

The issue with reproducing a cartoon character or character from a movie or book, is that the contents are copyrighted or trademarked and the holder of the trademark/copyright is the only one who can legally distribute the image.  Unless someone has trademarked their cat, and you copy that cat, there is nothing to worry about.  You would be safe in making up your own cat image.  In fact, you can make up your own image of whatever you want, as long as the whole thing is your own original idea, and is not copied from anything else.  And you can sell items you make from those completely original designs.  

 

If you search around on the forums, there are informative previous discussions about copyright, trademark etc.  

 

Oh thanks! I will look for those posts

Thank you for the info