Most Merch sellers know "don't use trademarks". Then a design with no brand name on it gets removed anyway, because it broke a different rule. There are three separate sets of rights that matter for print on demand, and they work very differently.
This guide explains each one in plain words, then clears up the myths about fair use and parody that cost sellers their listings.
Note This is general information, mostly about US law, and not legal advice. Laws differ by country and by US state. For a specific design or a notice you received, ask an IP attorney.
The quick comparison
| Copyright | Trademark | Right of publicity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it protects | Creative works: art, photos, text, characters, lyrics | Names, phrases and logos that identify who sells a product | A real person's name, face, voice and likeness |
| Who owns it | The creator (or their employer or buyer) | The business using it to sell goods | The person, sometimes their estate after death |
| How you get it | Automatically, the moment the work is created | Mainly by using it in business, stronger when registered | Automatically, as a person, under state law |
| Merch example of breaking it | Printing a cartoon character or song lyrics | Putting a slogan registered for clothing on a shirt | Printing a celebrity's photo or name to sell shirts |
The three rights, one by one
Copyright: protecting creative work
Copyright protects original creative expression: drawings, illustrations, photos, poems, lyrics, movie scenes, characters and so on. It starts automatically when the work is created. No registration and no © symbol are needed.
What copyright does not protect:
- Ideas. Anyone can make a design about cats who hate Mondays. Nobody owns that idea, only specific drawings of it.
- Short phrases and titles. In the US, short phrases generally cannot be copyrighted. That is why slogans are a trademark question, not a copyright one.
- Facts and common symbols. A plain heart or a star belongs to everyone.
For Merch sellers, copyright problems usually come from:
- Fan art of characters (even if you drew it yourself, the character is protected).
- Song lyrics, poems and long movie quotes.
- Images taken from Google, Pinterest or other sellers.
- Stock art used outside its license.
Copyright lasts a long time. For most works by an individual in the US, it is the author's life plus 70 years. "It's old" is only safe for truly old works that are in the public domain, and you should check the specific work.
Trademark: protecting brands
A trademark is a word, phrase, logo or symbol that tells buyers who a product comes from. It is protected for specific types of goods (called classes). Class 25, for example, covers clothing.
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Search the phrase
USPTO Trademark Search, plus the offices for each marketplace you sell in.
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Live or dead?
Dead marks are usually not a problem. Live ones need a closer look.
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Which goods?
Clothing is class 25. Mugs, cases and bags sit in other classes.
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Live and covers your product
Skip it, or change the words.
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Nothing live that covers it
Upload, and keep a note of your search.
Key points for Merch:
- Short phrases can be trademarks. Ordinary slogans are registered for shirts all the time. That is the big difference from copyright.
- Registration is public. You can search it on the USPTO database. See how to check a phrase for trademarks for the full routine.
- Trademarks can last forever as long as the owner keeps using and renewing them.
- The listing counts too. A brand name in your title, bullets or brand field can be a problem even if the art is fine.
Big brands also have a broader right against "dilution". A famous logo cannot be put on a mug just because the brand does not sell mugs.
Right of publicity: protecting people
The right of publicity lets a person control the commercial use of their identity: name, photo, face, signature, voice, and sometimes a recognizable catchphrase.
It is mostly state law in the US, and it varies. Some states protect it after death, which is why estates of famous people can still enforce it. Other countries have their own versions.
What this means for Merch:
- A celebrity's face on a shirt is almost always a problem, even if you drew the portrait yourself. Drawing it yourself solves the copyright issue on the photo, not the publicity issue.
- A celebrity's name in your listing to attract searches is a problem too.
- Politicians, athletes, influencers and musicians are all covered.
Watch out This is the rule sellers forget most often, because there is no database to check. The safe habit is simple: no real people in the art or the listing.
The fair use and parody myths
Two beliefs cause more Merch takedowns than almost anything else.
Myth 1: "It's fair use"
Fair use is a US copyright defense. Courts weigh four factors: the purpose of the use (including whether it is commercial), the nature of the original work, how much was used, and the effect on the market for the original.
The problem for Merch sellers:
- Fair use is decided case by case, in court. It is a defense you argue after someone accuses you, not a permission you get in advance.
- Selling shirts is commercial. In Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith (2023), the Supreme Court said that when a new use serves a similar purpose to the original and is commercial, that weighs against fair use, even if the new work adds a new look or meaning.
- Amazon is not a court. When a rights owner sends a notice, Amazon usually removes the listing. It does not hold a fair use hearing.
- Fair use is a copyright idea. It does not cover trademarks or the right of publicity the same way.
Other myths in the same family: "I changed it 30%", "I gave credit", "I'm not making much money from it". None of these are rules.
Myth 2: "It's parody, so it's protected"
Parody can be a real defense, but it is much narrower than most sellers think.
In copyright, a parody that comments on or criticizes the original work itself can sometimes be fair use. A design that just borrows a famous image to be funny about something else is usually not parody in the legal sense.
In trademark, the Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products matters a lot. A dog toy called "Bad Spaniels" copied the Jack Daniel's bottle as a joke. The Court said that when you use someone's mark as a brand for your own product, the special free-speech protection for expressive works does not apply, and the parody defense in the trademark statute does not cover it either. The case went back to the lower courts for the normal "is this confusing?" test.
For a shirt, a logo parody is often exactly that: using someone else's mark on your goods. Being funny does not make it safe.
Where each rule shows up in practice
| Your design idea | Main risk |
|---|---|
| Your own drawing of a cartoon character | Copyright (and often trademark) |
| A popular slogan on a shirt | Trademark |
| A famous logo with one word changed | Trademark (and parody rarely helps) |
| Lyrics from a hit song | Copyright |
| A hand-drawn portrait of a singer | Right of publicity |
| A joke about a TV show with its title in the listing | Trademark |
| An original phrase and original art about a niche | Low risk |
How to stay safe without overthinking it
- Make it original. Your own words, your own art, about a niche or a feeling, not a franchise.
- Search phrases on the USPTO (and EUIPO, UK IPO or J-PlatPat for other marketplaces).
- Keep real people out, in the art and in the listing.
- Keep licenses for any fonts, clip art or stock you use.
- Do not rely on fair use or parody as a business plan. They are legal defenses, not upload rules.
Amazon's own intellectual property policy explains how it handles rights owners' complaints, and it is worth reading once. If a listing gets rejected, our guide on why Merch designs get rejected goes through the common causes.
Where MerchPPC fits
MerchPPC does not check trademarks, copyrights or publicity rights. It helps once your original designs are live: it reads your Merch sales and ads data into your own browser and shows which products earn their ad spend on the dashboard.
The short version
- Copyright protects creative work (art, characters, lyrics). It is automatic.
- Trademark protects brand names, slogans and logos for specific products. Short phrases can be trademarks.
- Right of publicity protects real people's names and faces. There is no database, so just leave real people out.
- Fair use is a court defense judged case by case, and commercial merch is a weak position.
- Parody is narrow. After Jack Daniel's, using a brand's mark as your own product's branding gets no special pass.
Amazon changes its rules, prices and tools from time to time. Check the current details in your Merch and Amazon Ads accounts.