Is it legal to print a cartoon character on a tee shirt for sale?

[James]

I have a Facebook page company and am thinking about making t-shirts to give away & sell to fans. I've always used Muttley as my unofficial mascot and wanted to put him on the t-shirt. Would this be legal or would I be breaking a trademark law of some sort?

Thanks.

[Takki]

Not legal. You don't own the character, so you don't have the rights for distribution.

[Yasasvee]

I'm pretty certain it is ilegal

[660]

It is illegal. If you were to put it on your own tshirt, they might not do anything about it. However, if you put it on Tshirts and sell them, you are breaking trademark and copyright laws. You do not own that character so therefore, you can't sell his likeness.

[bcnu]

The owners of the copyright of that cartoon own the EXCLUSIVE right to duplicate it, create derivative works of it, distribute or publicly display those works. 17 USC 106. Making even ONE without a license would be a copyright infringement. Distributing it to anyone else would be a copyright infringement. Displaying it in public would be a copyright infringement. 17USC 501. Selling it would be a federal felony. 18 USC 2319.

If you believe you have a statutory exemption for your particular use (e.g., display in a non-profit classroom in the course of a lesson illustrated by A LAWFUL copy), you are free to attempt to prove that defense in federal court.

Trademark law, similarly, gives the owners the EXCLUSIVE right to place their distinctive brand on goods or services in commerce. If you place their brand (e.g., a cartoon character) on a shirt and it thereby appears to come from the owners of the trademark, that would be a trademark infringement. You can be sued for actual damages (if any) or simply for an injunction (make you stop doing it, turn over all existing forgeries for destruction, etc). In mass-production cases, counterfeiting tags or labels, or packaging, you could be charged as a criminal and face severe penalties. 18 USC 2320.