: Can I use the image of a copyrighted character in my commercial design? I started working on my own designs to sell and had someone come and asked me if I could put a classic Winnie the

@Pope1402555

You need not to be a lawyer for this, copyright is NOT patent.
You might want to look at Berne Convention and its applicability.


Berne Convention, Berne also spelled Bern, formally International
Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works,
international copyright agreement adopted by an international
conference in Bern (Berne) in 1886 and subsequently modified several
times (Berlin, 1908; Rome, 1928; Brussels, 1948; Stockholm, 1967; and
Paris, 1971). Signatories of the Convention constitute the Berne
Copyright Union.

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@Reiling762

There is a lot of very valuable information on the comments, so I summarized them (very shortly) here to keep this question from being marked as unanswered.

Winnie The Pooh is a Disney copyrighted character, and as such can't be used for commercial purposes without acquiring the proper rights for it. The images available on Etsy that you mention, even if they say they are for personal use, are infringing the law.

Related question:


How to handle client requests to violate copyrights?


(mandatory) Note: I am not a lawyer.

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