[envisionaries]

I want to start making t-shirts and sell them.

Some of you may have heard of the shirt that has
"Smoke Meth & Hail Satan" written on it with an upside down cross.

Would it be illegal if I were to start printing t-shirts the same as the original and sell them?

Now this is a hypothetical question. I am not literally going to do that but it has a relevant interest as I don't want someone taking my own idea.

Thank you.

 

[kimura-mma]

If the phrase or design you are printing is trademarked or copyrighted, then it would be infringement, which is illegal. So there is no definitive answer to your question. Each phrase or design would need to be researched to see if it is owned as intellectual property.

Conversely, if you are trying to protect your own original work, then you would need to properly register the work as a copyright or trademark (whichever one the work is eligible for). Once the work is registered, you would have legal recourse within the laws of your registration to take action against anyone who infringes on your work.

 

[treefox2118]

I stopped worrying about copyright. In my opinion, copyright is only helpful for people with money. I don't copyright anything I design -- in fact, I openly let anyone copy my designs without payment or attribution.

When it comes to printing a popular meme phrase, I don't do jack. I retained a lawyer and if I ever get a cease and desist, my lawyer shoots off a response letter and that's the end of that. One time I did get a follow up response, and my lawyer spent all of an hour finding 50 previous uses of the supposedly trademarked quote and threatened to countersue for a false take down notice. This was from a pretty big company, and they backed down and disappeared into the rabbit hole they should stick their ugly designs into.

Stop worrying about the legal and get to making more designs. By the time someone has time to knock off one of your design slogans, you should have 5 more new ones to choose from for a release.

 

[envisionaries]

What if somebody was to take the exact same phrase but use it in a different font?
Would that still count as infringement?

All i want to do is use a custom tshirt company and print my own phrase onto a t shirt to sell.
But I dont want somebody to come around and rip me off.
Are you able to trademark a phrase onto a tshirt?

I see some people are copying the "Smoke Meth & Hail Satan" Shirt but using a slightly different font and selling it for cheaper.

 

[treefox2118]

You keep asking if it's illegal. It might be, but so what?

If some jerk takes your slogan (trademarked or not) and copies it, what are you going to do? Hire a lawyer for $5000+ to sue the guy? Of course not.

Copyright is not for guys like us. It's for Nike and companies with full time legal teams.

Focus on selling your goods and don't stress the competition using your ideas. Keep making new ideas and stay ahead of the competition.

 

[kimura-mma]

What if somebody was to take the exact same phrase but use it in a different font?
Would that still count as infringement?

If the phrase is trademarked as a standard character mark, it would be infringement.

If the phrase is trademarked as a stylized design, it may be infringement.

If the phrase is not trademarked, it would not be infringement.

All i want to do is use a custom tshirt company and print my own phrase onto a t shirt to sell.
But I dont want somebody to come around and rip me off.
Are you able to trademark a phrase onto a tshirt?

No, simply using the phrase on a t-shirt would not make it eligible for trademark. You would need to use the mark as a brand name.

Technically, your t-shirt design can be copyrighted. But only the exact design is protected. The phrase itself is not protected. If someone used the phrase in the exact same way to do, it's possible you could have legal recourse. But if there is any difference in the design, such as a different font, it would not be infringement.

I see some people are copying the "Smoke Meth & Hail Satan" Shirt but using a slightly different font and selling it for cheaper.

If it's not trademarked, then there is no trademark infringement. Using the different font helps avoid copyright issues. Not sure what the problem is here.

 

[envisionaries]

thank you for all the help everyone.

I now understand what you are talking about and I will no longer worry about copyright issues as I cannot bear the money involved to execute a lawsuit.

Best wishes on your endeavors.

 

[treefox2118]

Just want to mention:

1. Put a copyright statement in your designs, of course.
2. Do some research on writing a "cease and desist" letter yourself. Then don't stress. A good letter can knock down a jerk using your exact design.

Now go and design! More more more.