Licensed Fabrics

Almost any NBA, NFL, and Nascar fabrics can be special ordered. It takes about one week for special ordered fabrics to arrive. E-mail me for availability on licensed fabrics.

Licensed Fabrics

When someone releases fabric into the stream of commerce they effectively have relinquished control over the uses of that fabric.

While the pattern on the fabric may be copyrighted, the actual fabric itself is not. The pattern may include images of registered trademarks, such as the logo of the New York Yankees or a John Deere logo, etc.

Copyright law applies to the use of licensed fabric in the application of the first sale doctrine. Bear in mind, the term "licensed fabric" legally only refers to the fact the manufacturer of the fabric has a license to use the images on the fabric. It does not mean the fabric is "licensed" to the purchaser. "Licensed" products require an agreement between the owner of the product and the potential purchaser. Fabric is not "licensed"; fabric is sold.

The question is: can someone buy licensed fabric to make and sell items? Yes. Will the owners of the trademarked and copyrighted images interfere with the sales of these items? They might.

But, you ask, how can they interfere with the sales of items if the law says you can do this? They interfere because they can. They interfere because they know the great majority of sellers will not fight back by taking them to court. These companies employ lawyers that we refer to as bottom feeders. (1. a fish that feeds at the bottom 2. one that is of the lowest status or rank 3. an opportunist who seeks quick profit usually at the expense of others or from their misfortune e.g., corporate lawyers) Source: Merriam-Webster On-Line Dictionary.

When making and selling items from licensed fabrics, a disclaimer should be used as well as careful wording of the title of the product.

A seller should pay particular attention to the wording of their sale product and use a disclaimer when appropriate.

When selling an item crafted from licensed material, product titles are important. For example, let's say I am selling a Chicago Bears scrub top made from licensed Chicago Bears fabric. My product title should read something like this:

Scrub Top made from Chicago Bears Fabric and NOT.................... Chicago Bears Scrub Top. It's like the difference between "light red" and a "red light".

A disclaimer needs to be included in the body of the product description such as:

This is not a licensed (Chicago Bears) product.
It is however, hand-crafted from licensed (Chicago Bears) fabric.
I am not affiliated with or sponsored by (Chicago Bears).

For more information, please visit www.tabberone.com .