Exactly what can you sell at Artist Alley?

[sugarbumpkin]

I've searched the forums but I can't seem to find a straight answer to this question.  If there is an info thread somewhere that I've missed, please kindly post a link as a response.  I'd really appreciate that.

Anyways, all I know about Artist Alley is that I can't sell copyrighted stuff and I can only sell what I create myself.  I also know that food cannot be sold or given away here.  I'm learning how to make my own soaps and cosmetics, and I'd love to sell my creations at Artist Alley but I don't know if I'm allowed to.  I have not seen anything of this sort sold at Fanime except for the single makeup booth in Dealer's Room that sold eyeshadow singles made in China.  I'm very passionate about makeup and I'd love to be able to spread the love at Fanime.

Thanks so much in advance  :D

Edit: Can I sell stuff that my roommate made if I have her permission?

[darkkako]

I sold Lip Balm this year in the artist's alley, and my table was literally right in front of the staff table. ;) So I'd imagine cosmetics and soaps are alright. Make sure your cosmetics follow FDA Labeling regulations, though. http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/CosmeticLabelingLabelClaims/CosmeticLabelingManual/ucm126444.htm#clgk

[sugarbumpkin]

I sold Lip Balm this year in the artist's alley, and my table was literally right in front of the staff table. ;) So I'd imagine cosmetics and soaps are alright. Make sure your cosmetics follow FDA Labeling regulations, though. http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/CosmeticLabelingLabelClaims/CosmeticLabelingManual/ucm126444.htm#clgk

Ohhh! I think I was at your booth! And thanks very much =D

[jAded]

Edit: Can I sell stuff that my roommate made if I have her permission?

No, you cannot. She has to be there with her own seller's permit to sell.

[darkkako]

I sold Lip Balm this year in the artist's alley, and my table was literally right in front of the staff table. ;) So I'd imagine cosmetics and soaps are alright. Make sure your cosmetics follow FDA Labeling regulations, though. http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/CosmeticLabelingLabelClaims/CosmeticLabelingManual/ucm126444.htm#clgk

Ohhh! I think I was at your booth! And thanks very much =D

No problem. :D Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about labeling regulations and stuff. xD I spent a long time studying them while I was preparing for Fanime this year.

[M]

[Answering for our Fan Services Director since she's busy studying] This is a huge gray area that we're hoping to better answer for FanimeCon 2011.

[sugarbumpkin]

I sold Lip Balm this year in the artist's alley, and my table was literally right in front of the staff table. ;) So I'd imagine cosmetics and soaps are alright. Make sure your cosmetics follow FDA Labeling regulations, though. http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/CosmeticLabelingLabelClaims/CosmeticLabelingManual/ucm126444.htm#clgk

Ohhh! I think I was at your booth! And thanks very much =D

No problem. :D Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about labeling regulations and stuff. xD I spent a long time studying them while I was preparing for Fanime this year.

Thanks! Any help would be much appreciated. I'm reading a lot about the materials and what is safe and so forth (procrastinating for finals) but when I get down to actually making the stuff, I'll come around buggin' ya!

[sugarbumpkin]

[Answering for our Fan Services Director since she's busy studying] This is a huge gray area that we're hoping to better answer for FanimeCon 2011.

Oh, I hope it will be cleared up soon before I actually start making the stuff.  I absolutely love makeup and I got really excited when I saw the one booth in the dealer's room that sold makeup this year.  I'd love to be able to sell my own creations.

[darkkako]

[Answering for our Fan Services Director since she's busy studying] This is a huge gray area that we're hoping to better answer for FanimeCon 2011.

I imagine this will apply to my lip balm as well?

[M]

The gray area of Artist Alley is huge. Unfortunately, there will always be abuse in the system and we have seen numerous vendors receive an AA table so that they could avoid the fee of our Dealers Room. We don't want to harm our members that actually belong in AA, which is why we're always attempting to refine the rules for "what belongs in AA" and "what belongs in Dealers". To an extent, this could include "what belongs in Swap Meet".

[AnimeFans4Yaoi]

I'm sorry if this question has already been answered but, its very confusing to me how artists who sell in the Artists gallery can sell fan art of copyrighted licensed artists. I mean artwork like Naruto, Bleach, Air Gear, Hellsing and such. They aren't the original artists so how come it isn't illegal for them to make a profit off another artist's work?

We fan fiction writers can't do that so how come its ok for fan artists? Don't get me wrong I love buying fan art at conventions it just seems like stealing money from the original artist's pocket, doesn't it? I'm very confused because I would love to sell fan art products like t-shirts or key chains at conventions but I don't want to be stealing another artist's work to do that, especially if its illegal  :'( .

Can anyone clear up this confusion?

[Admiral Donuts]

I'm sorry if this question has already been answered but, its very confusing to me how artists who sell in the Artists gallery can sell fan art of copyrighted licensed artists. I mean artwork like Naruto, Bleach, Air Gear, Hellsing and such. They aren't the original artists so how come it isn't illegal for them to make a profit off another artist's work?

We fan fiction writers can't do that so how come its ok for fan artists? Don't get me wrong I love buying fan art at conventions it just seems like stealing money from the original artist's pocket, doesn't it? I'm very confused because I would love to sell fan art products like t-shirts or key chains at conventions but I don't want to be stealing another artist's work to do that, especially if its illegal  :'( .

Can anyone clear up this confusion?

Well, quite a lot of what I saw can be covered under parody laws, that's how a lot of the more prolific booths in AA are able to use characters from Pokemon & Dragonball on their stuff. More obscure media may not fall under international copyright law and be totally legal (but not totally ethical) to create merchandise based on said media.

As for in-between, where it's obvious that copyright and trademarks apply? Well, I may not be some fancy-pants big city lawyer with all kinds of fancy book learning and rich-people indoor plumbing, but I know of one case in particular that may serve as a precedent/example.

Calvin & Hobbes is a popular comic, but it's creator, Bill Watterson, has never let any merchandise other than the comics themselves be made. This leaves a huge demand for shady people to supply, so there's all kinds of unofficial merchandise out there. Yet, no lawsuits have ever been filed, because from a financial standpoint it doesn't make sense. Spending money on legal costs to stop people from selling merchandise doesn't make sense when it doesn't affect you, because you don't sell any merchandise in the first place.

Therein lies the key, there's a difference between "unofficial" and "bootleg knock-off". Selling action figures of Dragonball characters and Naruto headbands is illegal if it's not official merchandise, because those are both already made. Selling buttons made to look like pokeballs, or blueprints of the Going Merry? You'd probably never be forced to pay anything to the owners of Pokemon or One Piece, since it can be argued that the sale of either of those doesn't take away from the sale of any official merchandise.

In summation, it's only if it's an unauthorized replication of an already existing piece of merchandise that it's absolutely not okay. Everything else usually qualifies for some kind of loophole or exception.