I hope this is the right place to ask this. I know Disney designs are copyrighted and I believe Brother has a license. Are all other Disney designs illegal? If not, how do you find out if they have a license? If you buy a design from a digitizer with a license, does that mean that it is OK to use the design and/or to sell the product. Are there different laws for different countries? A digitizer from Australia, that I thought was OK is offering Disney designs. Are they safe from US copyright laws? Is it legal for them to sell them in Australia, but not for me to use them in the US? As you can see, I'm very confused about this issue and I don't want to do anything wrong, and certainly not anything illegal. Thanks for any clarification you can add.

Thanks for all the info. I am not interested in selling articles with Disney designs, but wanted to get as much information as possible to clarify the situation. Without a Brother machine is it illegal sew them even for family?

2 comments

by mops 12 Aug 2016

The legal Disney designs by Brother only work on a Brother machine - clever marketing trick - and sowing illegal designs is always illegal even if you don't sell.
Even if you Sew the legal ones and donate the project to charity, it can't be raffled or sold.

by sewtired 12 Aug 2016

Thank you so much for the clarification. I guess this is another website I will have to avoid. Sigh. Wish everyone would just play by the rules.

I have a Brother Disney machine and it states quite CLEARLY that the designs are for personal use and any selling thereof will be prosecuted.
Everyone loves Disney characters. I have heard of sellers being prosecuted here in Australia. And even the Brother reps have been known to ask embroiderers at stalls (in Australia) if they will do a Disney design for a customer.
The Brother machines with the "D" in their model number are encrypted so that they can upload to the machine and stitch-out the designs. Other Brother machines cannot use those designs.
Disney designs are copyrighted world wide. So do not go there.
When you buy a design from a good digitiser, it is specified in the sale info that comes with the design how many stitch-outs you can sell, if any at all.

1 comment

by mops 12 Aug 2016

I had a Brother Galaxy (bought it in 1992) and the Brother Disney cards worked on that one, later models could not use them.

I can only tell you what happened in my area. Grandmother bought a knitting book that had the Disney Characters in it. I believe she knitted Snoopy hats for her grandchildren. Her children thought she could really make money with selling them and she did. No one thought that Disney would prosecute a grandmother and ignored the warning. They were of the opinion that since she bought the pattern she could do with it what she wants. End result is that she lost her house.

None of the Disney Character Patterns can be used for sale. You can purchase them from Ibroidery.com legally but only for your own use. It amazes me how much of it is on some of the craft sites. I would not want to take the chance. Anyone offering them I would not trust to have the license.
Sue recently posted an article ( see link)

1 comment

by sewist1 12 Aug 2016

Snoopy is actually a Charles M. Schultz character. Here is a link showing how he dealt with one lady over copyright issues.

http://mashable.com/2012/08/21/le...

After Schultz died the rights were acquire by Iconix:

http://www.masslive.com/entertain...

Maybe they were the ones who prosecuted the lady but it seems that is one character Disney doesn't own.

I am seeing more and more Disney designs for sale. I don't do Disney myself but it seems they must be very popular and none of the digitizers are being pursued by Disney. The sites are quite open about selling these designs.

1 comment

by crafter2243 11 Aug 2016

Till Disney decides to clamp down

I'm not the best moderator to ask this as I don't do Disney. But copyright of Disney is world wide. There are a vast amount of illegally copied D designs about. If anyone has a Brother machines that has the D designs in it or on the memory cards they can sew the designs as much and as often as they like BUT they cannot sell what's been made as the licence is for personal use only. Regularly one can see goods with D designs on and the copyright logo is present just as it is on illegal designs that people are selling on various sites. So if your in any doubt about the validity of a Disney design leave it as there is a very high chance it's not legitimate.

I believe that unless you get a Disney embroidery design from a Brother Embroidery machine or from IBroidery...they are illegal...anywhere in the world...Disney is a worldwide company with parks all around the world. I don't have a Disney Brother embroidery machine, but I believe that even if you have a Disney Brother machine, you cannot sell items using those designs...they are for personal use only. Perhaps another Cutie who has a Brother Disney machine can clarify...

1 comment

by graceandham 11 Aug 2016

I think she covered it. Not only do they have parks all over the world, they have lawyers all over the world. Not worth the hassle.