Fan Merch

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Related terms: Fanart, Fannish Clothing, Fancraft, Cupsleeve Event
See also: Fanart
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Fan Merch has long been a part of fandom. Fan-made merchandise is usually created by fanartists. It is sold online or at conventions. Fan merch ranges from prints of fanart to apparel, lanyards, purses, dolls, buttons, pins, and more.

History

Selling & Trading

The buying and selling of fan merch is a large feature of conventions. Most conventions will have something like an Artist's Alley, where artists can purchase space for a stall and sell their goods. Some conventions ban artists whose display is more than a certain percentage fanart to original artwork because of intellectual property concerns.

Fan merch is also frequently sold online, such as through an Etsy store.

In the 2010s, anthology fanzines began to often include merch such as charms, buttons, etc. Physical zines sold online will often have fan merch sold and bundled with the book; this is true of most for profit and for charaity zines on Twitter.

Legality

Relationship to Official Merchandise

Some conventions have banned certain types of fanmade merch from being sold, with the presumed reason being that it would negatively impact the sales of official licensed merch.[1]

Creator Policies & Fandom Reactions

When a fanartist is selling fan merch "P4P", that indicates the cost is to pay for production and the artist is not making a profit. In some fandoms such as the MXTX fandom, the original creator doesn't wish for unlicensed sellers to make a profit from their IP due to her contract with JJWXC, so this is a way for fanartists to respect the creator's wishes while still creating and sharing fan merch[2][3][4]. This is particularly common in danmei and other c-media fandoms.

Drama can arise when a fanartist is suspected of making a profit off of what they claim is P4P merch. There is also frustration around criticism of P4P merch when the artists are essentially donating their work and time solely for the enjoyment of the community.

In 2015, Funimation issued a press release stating that fans should refrain from using trademarked names and logos in the sale of fanart and merch:

FUNimation appreciates the entertainment, education and skill that goes into and arises from the imitation and creation of works derived from existing works of popular manga and anime. FUNimation likewise realizes that the "Artist Alley" area of most conventions can be a good showcase for these works and therefore FUNimation tends not to enforce its copyright rights against those in Artist Alley who may be infringing FUNimation's copyright rights.

FUNimation's trademark rights, on the other hand, cannot go unenforced. This stems from a key distinction between U.S. Copyright Law and U.S. Trademark Law-in short, if copyright rights are not enforced, the copyright stays intact and the copyright holder generally will not suffer any harm beyond the infringement itself. But if trademark rights are not enforced, the trademark can be cancelled. Because of this difference, FUNimation cannot knowingly tolerate unauthorized use of its trademarks, such as use of trademarks in conjunction with the display or sale of works whose creation is likewise unauthorized.[5]

Similarly, Supergiant Games released a statement about its fan merchandise policy 2020, explicitly permitting fans to create and sell their own merchandise for its games (which include Hades and Bastion) with the stipulations that trademarked names and logos may not be used and that fan merchandise must not be mass-produced or mass-distributed.[6]

Taking inspiration from fan merchandise

The Walt Disney Company has been known to take inspiration from fan merchandise:

It's also clear that the company is taking some cues from what shoppers are buying (and photographing) from independent sellers. Earlier this month, Disney rolled out an official product undeniably aimed at the Instagram set — rose-gold sequined Minnie ears with a matching metallic bow — and sure enough, one by one, fans took the bait [...]

The ears sold out almost immediately in the parks, but online, some commenters were less enthused, pointing out that they looked remarkably similar to ones already being sold by several small shops, most notably Bibbidi Bobbidi Brooke, one of the top Instagrammers in the Disney community with more than 200,000 followers across her two accounts. Brooke began selling rose-gold ears in February 2016, hers slightly puffier, sequined all over, and, according to commenters, far more comfortable than the official park version. She took the news of the lookalike ears in stride, insisting in a post that she's “always excited to see new merch offerings,” but still, her followers rallied around her in the comments, writing “I was honestly a little heartbroken for you when I saw the Disney post” and “Yours will always be the original!!!”

 [7]

Scams and Non-Delivery

Another problem with fan merch is the potential for financial loss, both to the merch creator and to those purchasing the merch. Fan creators can become overwhelmed by the less-creative aspects of production, delivery and payment, and there is unfortunately a history within fandoms as a whole for dishonest trading - accepting payments for orders with no intention of providing the merch. In these situations it can be difficult to ascertain whether the non-delivery was deliberate scammage or the result of poor follow-through. Some of these examples are:

(see also Fandom and Profit)

Examples

2000s+

Example Gallery

References

  1. ^ "Forum: Artist's Alley ban on selling fanart merchandise???". DeviantArt. April 23, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-04-26. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  2. ^ [1] by @shirokumani. Posted 8/16/19. Archived link
  3. ^ https://tonyglowheart.tumblr.com/post/624485416339439616/i-dont-have-much-experience-with-fandom-merch-of
  4. ^ weibo source from MXTX
  5. ^ "FUNimation Announces Stance on Fan Art". AnimeCons.com. July 1, 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-03-05. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  6. ^ Policy on Fan Merchandise (Dec 16, 2020). Blog post. Supergiant Games. (archive link)
  7. ^ Racked: Why Notoriously Litigious Disney Is Letting Fan Stores Thrive
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