Disney designs made on a brother sewing machine

[manning]

brother has a license with Disney that allows an owner of a machine to embroider Mickey designs

Can you wear a Disney designed shirt done on a brother at Disney world?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

brother has a license with Disney that allows an owner of a machine to embroider Mickey designs

Can you wear a Disney designed shirt done on a brother at Disney world?

Yes, why not?

 

[lynxstch]

yes, why wouldn't you..not like they are going to stop everyone walking thru the gates with a Disney shirt on to stop and ask them where they got it? lol

 

[Geoff_M]

People, families in particular, wear home-brewed "Disney" themed vacation T-shirts all the time. Disney doesn't accost them and demand proof of proper licensing.

Now, trying to SELL such shirts on eBay is another matter...

 

[bjscheel]

I think you can use your embroidered items yourself, or gift them, but you are not supposed to sell them and make money off of them. (Just my personal recollection, not based on research!)

 

[Missy1961]

People, families in particular, wear home-brewed "Disney" themed vacation T-shirts all the time. Disney doesn't accost them and demand proof of proper licensing.

Now, trying to SELL such shirts on eBay is another matter...

Exactly.....

 

[bcla]

I think you can use your embroidered items yourself, or gift them, but you are not supposed to sell them and make money off of them. (Just my personal recollection, not based on research!)

I've seen licensed character design fabrics. If you look at the end they'll typically have a license disclaimer that they're only for personal use and can't be used to make items for sale. It may run into a gray area if you bring such a fabric to a sewing business.

It's supposed to be more of a trademark issue than a copyright issue. They've only licensed the trademark names/representation for personal items.

However, I've heard of some odd licensing deals in my time. Once someone I knew showed me a cowbell with the logo of a baseball team engraved on it. I asked how'd he do it, and he said he sent a letter to the President of the team and got a response that he could license the logo for $1. He sent in a check (apparently never cashed), showed a copy of the letter and the check to the engraver, and got it done using some sort of method to transfer an image into an engraving.

 

[Geoff_M]

I've seen licensed character design fabrics. If you look at the end they'll typically have a license disclaimer that they're only for personal use and can't be used to make items for sale. It may run into a gray area if you bring such a fabric to a sewing business.

Those fabrics are a really "gray area" for sure. Keep in mind that each copyright and trademark case is unique and there aren't a lot of hard and fast rules. Generally speaking, Judges must reach decisions after weighing all of the presented factors against the guidelines and principles contained in the applicable law. Disney and others have threatened and/or sued "crafters" that use bolts of licensed cloth (with the licensing restrictions printed on them) to make items that are then sold on eBay or at craft shows. However, the courts have not universally sided with the owners of the copyrighted/trademarked characters. One of the key points of contention is that of "Does the purchase of the fabric constitute a legal acceptance of the terms printed on the material and therefore bind the purchaser?" One famous "win" against Disney was from an eBay seller (Tabberone) that in 2002 turned the tables on Disney and tried to sue The Mouse over the "take down" of several Disney material related eBay listings. After several rounds of legal e-mail jousting, Disney agree to stop interfering with the sales... But your results may vary.

 

[Disneychick75]

Yes, these designs are fine for personal use.

 

[manning]

Question came up because a person in my wife's brother embroidery club asked this question. She has plans to make Disney patterns for herself, husband and children. She said she has heard that security was approaching people telling them to change shirts or be escorted out and others not being challenged.

My wife elected me to find out.

It seems to me if you embroider it on a licensed machine you can wear it anywhere. The teacher said that there is an embedded code in the authorized pattern and could be used only by authorized machines that read that code. Can of like what happens when you try to copy a commercial musical CD.

 

[daughtersrus]

Question came up because a person in my wife's brother embroidery club asked this question. She has plans to make Disney patterns for herself, husband and children. She said she has heard that security was approaching people telling them to change shirts or be escorted out and others not being challenged.

My wife elected me to find out.

It seems to me if you embroider it on a licensed machine you can wear it anywhere. The teacher said that there is an embedded code in the authorized pattern and could be used only by authorized machines that read that code. Can of like what happens when you try to copy a commercial musical CD.

What would be the point of being able to embroider something if it was never allowed to leave your house?

 

[daughtersrus]

I've seen licensed character design fabrics. If you look at the end they'll typically have a license disclaimer that they're only for personal use and can't be used to make items for sale. It may run into a gray area if you bring such a fabric to a sewing business.

It's supposed to be more of a trademark issue than a copyright issue. They've only licensed the trademark names/representation for personal items.

However, I've heard of some odd licensing deals in my time. Once someone I knew showed me a cowbell with the logo of a baseball team engraved on it. I asked how'd he do it, and he said he sent a letter to the President of the team and got a response that he could license the logo for $1. He sent in a check (apparently never cashed), showed a copy of the letter and the check to the engraver, and got it done using some sort of method to transfer an image into an engraving.

We have participated in some local craft shows that state right in their contract that they will not allow anything to be sold that contains printed fabric because of legal issues.

 

[RitaE]

In general, Disney will disallow an adult that appears to be dressed as a Character (usually some exceptions for the Halloween Party events). That might be what your wife's friend heard about. So like, no dressing up in an Embroidered Anna or Else dress and donning a wig with red braids, but the little girls do get to wear their Princess outfits. Or no renting your own Mickey Mouse costume and wearing it into the Magic Kingdom.

 

[lizabu]

Question came up because a person in my wife's brother embroidery club asked this question. She has plans to make Disney patterns for herself, husband and children. She said she has heard that security was approaching people telling them to change shirts or be escorted out and others not being challenged.

My wife elected me to find out.

It seems to me if you embroider it on a licensed machine you can wear it anywhere. The teacher said that there is an embedded code in the authorized pattern and could be used only by authorized machines that read that code. Can of like what happens when you try to copy a commercial musical CD.

I can assure you with certainty that they are not telling people to change or leave and no one is going to be able to tell the difference between an official Brother Disney embroidery design or a Disney design that your wife's classmate digitized herself. And even if they could tell the difference it doesn't matter. The only problem you could encounter is if you try to sell the digitized designs or the finished products. I've heard of crafters receiving cease and desist letters when trying to sell products with copyright designs on them.

 

[cleverclovers]

brother has a license with Disney that allows an owner of a machine to embroider Mickey designs

Can you wear a Disney designed shirt done on a brother at Disney world?

No problem. I used to paint Disney designs on t-shirts for my nieces and nephews to wear during their WDW trips. Even has cast members comment on how much they liked them.

 

[Geoff_M]

She said she has heard that security was approaching people telling them to change shirts or be escorted out and others not being challenged.

The only time Disney staff will ask someone to remove a shirt with a Disney character on it is if the usage is deemed "inappropriate".

 

[bcla]

I got curious and I think it's something in this series:

This is the closest I can find. I think all the design (even the non-Disney ones) are theoretically only for personal use. I don't know if the same license applies to the preloaded (and now downloaded) ones, but I suspect they do.

https://brothercustomerservice.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/66423

Since I purchased the Disney designs on iBroidery.com, does that mean that I can sell items with these designs?

These embroidery designs have been manufactured by Brother under a licensing agreement with The Walt Disney Company, through which Brother has permission to use Disney images. The embroidery patterns offered on this website are for personal non-profitable use only. No license is granted for any money-making use of these patterns and any such use is strictly prohibited.​

 

[bcla]

I also found that their downloadable patterns have a limit of 25 uses each.

https://brothercustomerservice.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/70392/related/1

 

[Geoff_M]

With the Brother embroidery equipment, there's a couple legal things to consider. First, as bcla pointed out, the patterns and the software needed to control the embroidery equipment are almost certainly licensed instead of purchased. This would likely include an explicit acknowledgement of the licensing terms when you first use the software, or download the patterns. This licensing, instead of outright purchasing would not negate Disney's rights under the First Sale Doctrine. As such, the user would not have the right to sell the works created because, unlike the bolts of pre-printed fabric, the patterns were not "sold" in the first place. Secondly, one of the rights granted by law to a copyright holder is the sole right to manufacture legal copies of copyrighted work. Just like I cannot take a purchased Disney soundtrack CD and sell ripped and burned copies legally, it would likely also be illegal for me to do the same with selling polo shirts that I made that contain copyrighted Disney artwork. The license that I'd be given with the embroidery equipment, or artwork downloads, would protect me for things that I make for my non-commercial use, but beyond that, I'm risking a legal fight.