The Walt Disney Company has really started cracking down on all unlicensed vendors selling unlicensed Disney merchandise. They have started searching through numerous online sites and sending out “Cease and Desist” letters and shutting down these stores.
Word going around is that Disney is really cracking down on those that are selling items which are “Frozen”-related.
Disney has often looked through sites here and there, and sent out letters, but not like this. In the past few weeks, Disney is really going strong at online shops that are selling any Disney items without a license.
According to one report from Etsy, one Amazon seller actually got served with a lawsuit since their online store had such a large amount of unlicensed Disney merchandise for sale. Apparently, Amazon is even freezing their earned assets as Disney states the money is theirs.
Honestly, they’re right.
Disney has not released an official word on this situation, but I’ve known of a few sellers which have received these Cease and Desist letters, and it’s legit.
A number of online stores have started going through their inventory and deleting items that are considered to be unlicensed Disney merchandise items. Other online stores have closed up shop completely.
When a copyright or trademark is owned by someone or some company, you’d be surprised at just how much that can include – images and even words.
If you’ve recently purchased an item from an unlicensed Disney online store, you may want to check about getting your money back or cancelling your order or at least making sure it’s going to be filled. Many stores are shutting their online doors ASAP to avoid lawsuits.
Other stores are licensed and are going to be allowed to stay open. Some items may have to be removed, but there are many out there which are totally legit and legal. Make sure you know who you’re dealing with.
Join the “I’m So Disney…” group on Facebook to discuss this and many other Disney things with anyone and everyone.
Just for clarity:
It’s completely legal (in the USA at least) to resell merchandise you own. For example, if you buy a Frozen shirt from disneystore.com or At Walt Disney World, you are perfectly within your right to resell it on eBay or on your own online store at a marked up value. Disney cannot strong-arm you in shutting down your store. If you are selling legitimate Disney items that you bought from a licensed store (like Target, Toys R Us, Disney Store, Walt Disney World, etc) and they send you a cease & desist, contact a lawyer!
If you are selling UNLICENSED items (like a Frozen print-out you made at home, or a Frozen t-shirt you had made) without Disney’s permission, then you should shut it down. Lots of crafty sellers on Etsy need to watch out!
I really think its a greed thing on Disney part. It’s like the immigration debate how long have they been here and now scream OMG their here illegally. Same with Disney stuff how long have people been peddling Disney stuff and now Disney wants to cry it’s ALL MINE! Whatever the little shops they are attacking are just easy to scare and makes these young execs feel like King Kong. And we wonder why America is in such trouble and sinking.
So with all that said how exactly does a shop become “Legal” to sell handmade Disney stuff? Seems weird if you buy a pattern or Design that is Disney doesn’t that belong to you to do as you want or how is that person selling it? There are tons of places that sell and I don’t see them taking down their goods.
Confused and find this whole debacle like something the government called a law they wrote???? LOL
I have been doing craft shows for about 24 years, and it has always been again the law to sew licensed merchandise, Disney has always watched and stopped venders from selling their merchandise. I had one rep tell me that it cost them a boat load of money to get license for each and every item when they first make it and put it on the market. You can buy a license to sew Disney items in you shop. Last time I checked it was about 35 to 50 thousand dollars a year. They are coming down hard now because of all the new embroidering business going up and all the people making the patterns and selling them. Even football teams are licensed and you can’t make anything and sell from their fabrics, you can make it as a gift or for your use only.
See, you understand it. Thank you for posting this, Shirley.
Well, Laurie…it’s not greed and they are crying “it’s all mine” because all Disney copyright IS all theirs.
I sew for other people and I make whatever they want me to. I don’t have a website yet but if I do eventually get one and show examples of my craft I don’t see how anyone can tell me I can’t provide this service. This includes going to the fabric store and purchasing the materials if it is Disney or whoever. I am buying the material from a Disney licensed retailor so why the scare tactics? I think they are referring to the mass productions company not those that provide this service. I have no plans to stop providing my service.
Hi I make and sell handmade crafts on Facebook. Can I get permission to use Disney images, if so how do I go about it?
You would have to contact Disney directly.
This is ridiculous! As parent to a five year old, I’m finding it nearly impossible to find toys and clothing that my daughter is asking for as it is all out of stock. I have been trying our local toys r us for the last three months and the Disney store itself is appalling (http://www.disneystore.co.uk/frozen/elsa/mn/1341503/?searchRedirect=1&searchTerm=elsa&catalogFromSearch=10002 -this is the page that comes up when you search Elsa). My daughter doesn’t want a decorative shoe or a melamine plate. She’s 5! She wants toys! Surely it would make more sense for Disney to search these sites and say “hmm, this item seems really popular, why aren’t we making that?” Rather than penalise people who are catering for parents like me. I appreciate the copyright argument and personally, I would much rather buy something from a reputable company like Disney, than a faceless someone on Etsy, but when they are refusing to provide merchandise, how am I supposed to do that?
I think its more then reasonable of Disney. The information is out there if people bothered to look. I’m sure if small businesses were being copied etc, by Disney there would be uproar. It works both ways. Personally, I think its safer too. You know that licensed products meet certain standards. Why people think because its a hobby or they make less then Disney its ok to make cash of someone else’s hard work, invention or creation is beyond me. Create your own designs, or apply for a licence to sell their products and it won’t be an issue. Some of the poor quality items made ripping off Disney is an insult to their brand. They’re only protecting their business, their creation and reputation and the customers safety. It’s not all about money.
While I totally understand the need to protect copyright I take expection to this statement –“I’m sure if small businesses were being copied etc, by Disney there would be uproar. It works both ways.” Large companies do take what small crafters make, send to China to mass produce and then we can’t compete. Things that come to mind; Snowman Soup, Cocoa cones, handpainted anything…please don’t say big corporations don’t steal from the small business person…they just steal the whole CONCEPT!
And don’t mention the fact that Disney has done this.
Disney is a business , just like any small online business . If a person complains that someone is copying their work there is outrage on the craft sights . Why is Disney any different . They make films kids love and pay millions to make them . Surely it’s fair they should receive the money for their merchandise . These days everything is coppied and fake , why do we think we have a right to steal other peoples creativity ? It’s just so wrong that we want fake cheap coppies of everything , no ones recognises quality they just want cheap tat , and to make a quick buck of someone’ else’s stuff .
Most of the items handmade one at a time are of much higher quality of what even Disney offers. The cheap stuff comes from the mass productions.
could you please provide a email address where people can contact regards of they hand made crafts whether they can sell there items as there are disney knitting/crochet books/patterns available to buy withe the disney logo on them
So if I purchase fabric that has Olaf on it and I make bows and sell them, it’s against the law?
As most of us ribbon sellers and bow ladies on facebook have seen this, we have found it quite comical that this is about infringed items and yet the ad on the right side of the article is for counterfeit frozen items from china being sold on aliexpress.
Those ads are generated differently for every viewer and are based off of your Internet searches.
wow
What about the licensed fabric you buy at Joann’s fabric and you make an item and sell it. Is that illegal? You are buying licensed fabric.
Thanks
COPYRIGHT……INTELLECTUAL LICENSE…….it is THEIR right to scream if people are making money off Disney goods without having a license.
You can make anything you like for yourself but DON’T SELL IT
Copyright lasts for a century or something
If you are selling, you should know the rules
Even as a Celebrant, I have to have a copyright license to read someone’s poem in a service
Copyright is EVERYWHERE
I’m so tired of hearing about this. I think Disney has every right to crack down on these “copy cats”. They pay millions of dollars to create and produce these films and the way they make their money back is through box office sales, merchandise and licenses. If all these business continue to do what they are doing, between them and pirating of these films there will be no Disney for our children to enjoy.
I am also a small handmade business and I spend hours studying and creating unique items to sell through my business and I would get pissed too if people copied my work. If people want to be in an industry that requires them to be imaginative and creative, then they need to be imaginative and creative and if they aren’t they are in the wrong business. Challenge yourself people.
If you want to be a small business owner, do yourself a favour and familiarise yourself with they legal side of selling goods and services.
If I make $25 – $30,000 a year, how am I supposed to pay $35 – 50,000 for a license??? Many of us barely make ends meet and are trying to earn extra $$. Does anyone make $50,000 a yr from their embroidery business?? I do understand about copyrights and quality work but the average person doesn’t make enough to cover the cost of materials and a few bucks for their time. Maybe if they lowered the cost of the license they would save money on lawyer fees.
Then making Disney items isn’t for you. Those prices are in place because they don’t want every Tom, Dick, and Harry making cheap junk and ruining their brand. There’s always the idea that you could come up with your own ORIGINAL ideas / designs and then no one could stop you from selling that. Embroidery businesses do not have the RIGHT to afford the licenses…. either you can, or you can’t. Just like if I went in a grocery store and saw that milk was too expensive. I would not put my hand on my hip and proclaim that milk is just too expensive and it’s not fair because I should be able to afford it, and then magically the manager steps out and marks it down. Life does not work that way. Disney makes the high price of a license because they want to make sure you have the means (i.e, revenue of a successful business) to put out quality items with their brand.
Thank you, Anna. Could not have said it better.
Maybe Disney needs to rethink their policy. If some small mom and pop business wants to embroider Elsa on a t-shirt and sell it at a local craft fair, they can’t afford to pay Disney $35-50,000 to do that. Would make more sense to sell additional licenses to the little guys who are not mass producing items. They could charge them $200 a year—something a lot more reasonable. Small businesses (i.e. 1 or 2 employees) who are interested would then be able to purchase this license and be “legal.”