Modern software and YouTube videos make it easy for non-technically trained and educated folks to create apparel with designs that other people created. It opens avenues for people like me to start and run a small, home-based business and this is a wonderful, freeing thing!
The downside is that it also makes it easy for folks to copy and save images and sayings off the internet and create and sell a shirt in under an hour. By and large, this is illegal, unless you have the permission and rights to use those images and sayings. And that is possible, for instance, I can pay a certain Texas university a couple of hundred dollars a year and have my designs and products approved and licensed to sell.
The downside is that it also makes it easy for folks to copy and save images and sayings off the internet and create and sell a shirt in under an hour. By and large, this is illegal, unless you have the permission and rights to use those images and sayings. And that is possible, for instance, I can pay a certain Texas university a couple of hundred dollars a year and have my designs and products approved and licensed to sell.
As I peruse Etsy, I see many shops successfully selling things that likely are in violation of copyright and trademark laws. I belong to several industry discussion groups and this topic is discussed daily. You'd be surprised the lack of education on the topic. Or not. So may people read and quote information that they find on the internet and post it as law.
I want my customers to know that I go to great lengths to use fonts, images and sayings that are either original, in the public domain or that I purchased a license to use. I believe this fact adds value to my products.
I have applied to be certified with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to be able to create, and legally sell, spirit wear for infants and children. Again, I believe this adds value to my products.
Buying from small local businesses is important to a family's economy and to the local economy. In our case, I was able to buy college textbooks with proceeds from mum sales and a small amount of sales tax was contributed to my town and to the state. In my opinion, it is equally important to shop ethically. Does the shop sell things that are likely licensed by Disney or the NFL? Please do not send a photo to a shop owner and ask them to make this for you. It puts that person in a difficult position to either turn you down and risk offense or if they take the sale, it puts their business in jeopardy.
If you are a creative small business owner, particularly if you use a hobby cutting machine such as a Cricut or Silhouette, I invite you to create and sell with integrity; get your tax permit, use images and fonts legally and don't copy other people's work.
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