Jayne ,'Ariel'
Discussion of the Mutant Enemy series, Firefly, the ensuing movie Serenity, and other projects in that universe. Like the other show threads, anything broadcast in the US is fine; spoilers are verboten and will be deleted if found.
They don't hold any trademarks on Serenity stuff, for info. (I did a search on the Trademark Electronic Search System).
However, they do sell licenses for these things, and the license holders are within their rights to sue Universal if they allow, for example, shirts which should come under the official license to be produced.
Let's put it this way. If she had put out that shirt, without Serenity the movie existing, then no one would have bought it. The interest that was created in her materials came from the corporately created and owned film in question.
She's a professional artist by trade, and makes money from shirts not related to this fandom, I believe.
Fewer people would have bought it? I'm assuming that the Serenity fanbase is larger than her shirt clientele?
Well, of course fewer people would have bought it. I don't think -- just my opinion -- she would contest that the designs were aimed at Firefly/Serenity fans. However, people on this very website wrote in a book called "Finding Serenity". Should Universal retroactively invoice those folk?
Invoice them for what?
Writing about works owned by Universal without a license to do so, and profiting from it.
Writing about your own personal experience about the work and writing a work in that universe with those characters are different things.
Well, of course fewer people would have bought it. I don't think -- just my opinion -- she would contest that the designs were aimed at Firefly/Serenity fans. However, people on this very website wrote in a book called "Finding Serenity". Should Universal retroactively invoice those folk?I think the book is a well established Fair Use. It's legal to refer to and/or use portions of copyrighted materials for criticism and commentary. Besides, nobody is going to confuse a book about themes in Firefly with the product the studio was selling. Whereas consumers might well confuse fan made for-fan-profit T-shirts "inspired" by a film, with any T-shirts Universal (et al) might choose to license.
Here's some summarized information on fair use/not fair use as pertains to visual arts: [link] See the "Not a fair use" paragraph on the church quilt poster.
Yes, but Universal and FOX have sold licenses to Titan -- exclusive ones -- for delivering works pertaining to the development of the show and movie.
ETA - this post was written earlier..