How to Legally Sell Fan Art: A Comprehensive Guide

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Learn how copyright laws apply to fan art

Co-authored by Arklight Blues and Sea Cucumber and Marcus Pruitt, BS

Last Updated: November 19, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Asking for Permission
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• Can you sell without permission?
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• Getting Out of Trouble
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• Copyright & Fan Art
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• Video
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• Tips
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• Warnings

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Technically speaking, it’s not criminal to make and sell fan art in the US because copyright isn't enforced criminally. Rather, copyright owners enforce their rights by suing infringers in federal civil court. If they win, they could get money from you. However, if they don't win (or if they never sue in the first place), nothing happens. In this article, we explain how to ask for permission to sell fan art so you don’t have to deal with legal troubles. We also explain whether or not you can sell fan art without permission, what to do if you get in trouble with the copyright owners, and more. Read on to learn everything you need to know about selling fan art the legal way!

Can you sell fan art of copyrighted characters?

Selling fan art of copyrighted characters is legal as long as you get permission from the copyright owner, which you can get by sending them a letter or email. If you don’t have their permission, it’s illegal to sell fan art. If they find out you’re selling art, they may send a cease-and-desist asking you to stop.

Steps

Section 1 of 4:

How to Ask for Permission to Sell Fan Art

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1. 
   1
   Identify who owns the copyright in the original work. In most cases, this is as easy as looking for a copyright notice and then seeing what name appears after the copyright symbol ( © ). If you're doing fan art of an older character or work, however, you might have to dig a little deeper to make sure the copyright hasn't changed hands.

   • Typically, you'll have a company that owns the right to the characters or other work that you want to use in your fan art. Check out the corporate site of that company for contact information.
   • On these sites, look for the person to reach out to for copyright inquiries. If no one is listed specifically, work your way up the chain, asking who you would need to speak to about copyright issues.
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   Look for a fan art program offered by the copyright owner. Many major copyright owners (think movie studios and production companies) offer fan art programs that allow fans to create art based on their characters within certain parameters. Go to the corporate website of the copyright owner to see if such a program exists and, if so, what its specifications are.

   • Many of these programs are notoriously frugal with their characters—especially if they're long-running, popular characters. For example, Paramount allows fans to make Star Trek fan films, but they can't be longer than 15 minutes.
   • Some sites that provide selling platforms, such as RedBubble and TeePublic, also have brand partnerships that allow you to sell fan art with permission from the copyright owner.
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3. 
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   Write a formal letter requesting permission to sell your fan art. Address your letter to the copyright owner and explain who you are and what you want to do. Be clear about the fact that you want to sell your fan art and let them know where you plan to sell it. At the end of your letter, explicitly ask them for permission to use their work to make fan art.

   • Provide your contact details and give them a deadline to respond (say, within 10 days of receiving your letter). But be nice about it—remember, you're asking them to do something nice for you, not making a demand.
   • If you already have samples of the art that you want to produce, you might want to include a piece of it so they can see what you want to do. Otherwise, you might include samples of your other work so they know the type of artist you are.
   • You could also include the URL of any website where you share or sell your art, such as an Etsy or DeviantArt page, as well as your social media information.
4. 
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   Send your letter to the copyright owner. Look for a correspondence address on the copyright owner's website. You might need to send the letter to the copyright owner's agent or other representative. Mail your letter using certified mail with a return receipt requested, so you know when the copyright owner receives your letter. Based on this, you'll know when to expect a response from them.

   • Keep the green card you get in the mail after the copyright owner receives your letter. Consider stapling it to a printed copy of the letter you sent so you have them both together.
5. 
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   Wait for a response from the copyright owner. Copyright owners will often get back to you within a reasonable time (especially if they're going to say "no"). If they've made some sort of counteroffer or proposed a licensing fee (a fee you pay to be able to use the copyrighted work), consider whether you can accept that arrangement and get back to them as soon as possible.

   • If they give the thumbs-up on your project, you're good to go. Just make sure you follow all of their stipulations and only sell the art that they gave you permission to.
   • Keep their letter in a safe place in case they have a change of heart later. The letter with their written permission proves that you are selling your fan art legally.
   • If the copyright owner refuses your request, do not sell your fan art, as it is illegal without their permission. Continuing your fan art project after the copyright owner has refused permission amounts to willful copyright infringement, as you've put them on notice about what you want to do, and you know they're not okay with you doing it.
   • If you sell your fan art after being told no by the owner, that can put you on the hook for some big-time fines.
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Section 2 of 4:

Can you sell fan art without asking for permission?

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1. No, selling fan art without the copyright owner’s permission is illegal. Some fan artists do sell their art without permission, which they only get away with because it doesn’t get on the copyright owner’s radar. However, what they’re doing is still copyright infringement, which is illegal. To sell fan art legally, you must get formal permission from the copyright owner, who can grant you usage licensing. If you sell fan art without permission and the copyright owner notices, they may send you a cease-and-desist letter or even fines.

   • A cease-and-desist letter is a formal document demanding that a person or organization stop harmful activity, like copyright infringement.
   • Some copyright owners may be relaxed about their intellectual property (IP), but that’s not universal. Additionally, digital manga artists Arklight Blues and Seacucumber Salad say that “if [an artist] makes too much money on someone else’s IP, that can definitely become a problem.”
   • Copyright owners do not tend to take kindly to artists that are drawing sales away from their work, and they may decide to take them to court and to get restitution fees.

Section 3 of 4:

Getting Out of Trouble When Selling Fan Art

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1. 
   1
   Read the cease-and-desist letter to find out how much wiggle room you have. If a copyright owner finds out that you’ve been making fan art from their original work and they're not happy about it, they'll likely send you a cease-and-desist letter. This letter will probably be written by their attorney and will include a lot of intimidating and threatening language, but don't panic. Skim over that and get to the heart of what they're asking you to do.

   • These letters tend to follow a formula, so if you skim through to the end of the letter, you'll likely see a numbered list or bullet points that outline what the copyright owner wants from you.
   • If they've tossed out an alternative, such as a licensing fee, consider whether that's something you can afford.
2. 
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   Write a response to the letter as soon as possible. Decide the extent to which you're willing to comply with the demands laid out in the letter, then write your response. You can hire an attorney if you want, although you don't necessarily need to do so at this stage. Simply write them a letter to let them know that you received theirs and go from there.

   • Let them know that you've decided to stop selling your fan art, and that should be the end of it (unless they want money from you for the copies you've already sold).
   • If you're going to argue that your work doesn’t violate the owner’s copyright, talk to an attorney first. Remember, you're likely writing this letter to an attorney who specializes in copyright law, so you want to be on equal footing.
3. 
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   Negotiate your use of the work with the copyright owner. You can't use copyrighted work without the owner's permission—but that doesn't mean you can't negotiate for permission after the fact. If your fan art is already well-established and you have a loyal following, you might be able to pay a licensing fee to the copyright owner.

   • Many copyright owners appreciate fan art and might be willing to work with you. However, it's likely not going to come free at this stage.
   • The owner has already let you know they're not happy with your use, so expect to pay a licensing fee if you want to continue producing their work.
   • This strategy likely won't work with the large and wealthy copyright owners, like Disney. Unfortunately, they likely won't negotiate licensing rights with you, as they only negotiate multi-million-dollar contracts with large companies and distributors.
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   Hire an attorney immediately if you get served with a lawsuit. Copyright infringement cases take place in federal court, so it's essential to have an attorney on your side. The copyright owner will likely have a whole team of lawyers on their side, and you don't want to go up against that alone. Talk to several attorneys who have experience in copyright litigation, then pick the one that best suits your needs and budget.

   • If you're low on funds, look up "Lawyers for the Arts." Most states have a branch of this nonprofit organization of volunteer attorneys. They'll help you with your case and might even agree to represent you for free.
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   Argue that your fan art constitutes fair use. While this can be a stretch for most fan art, it might work for you if all else fails. The fair use doctrine promotes freedom of expression by allowing some use of a copyrighted work if it's considered fair. The two biggest categories are "commentary and criticism" and "parody."

   • Fan art typically doesn't fall into the "commentary and criticism" category because you're creating art related to something that you like. This category normally covers written reviews and news reports, not so much visual art.
   • You might be able to convince a judge that your work is a parody, depending on the content of your fan art.
     • For example, if you drew canonically straight characters as gay, you could say that you're ridiculing the original art's lack of gay characters.
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Section 4 of 4:

How Copyright Laws Apply to Fan Art

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1. Copyright protects the original creator of the art, not the fan art. Fan art isn’t protected by copyright law because it’s considered a derivative of the original copyrighted work. If the fan art is being used in an educational, critiquing, or parodying manner, it falls under fair use. Even then, it’s important to get permission from the copyright owner, as they may not agree that your art falls under fair use and can take legal action because of it.

   • Classifying fan art as fair use is much easier in the United States than it is internationally. Different countries have different copyright laws, and if you’re creating fan art of a character from another country, these laws can conflict.
   • For example, the parody series Dragon Ball Z Abridged (created in the U.S.) is considered fair use of the source material by many, but Toei Animation (the Japanese copyright owners of Dragon Ball Z) has taken legal action against them.

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Tips

• This article covers how to sell fan art legally in the US. If you live in another country, the law could be very different. Consult a local intellectual property attorney to figure out what’s permissible in your country.
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Warnings

• If you use titles or names in a way that could cause confusion and make people think your art is official art rather than fan art, you might run the risk of a trademark dispute as well. However, trademark disputes are rare with fan art.
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