License

Hi, does anyone know if you could face any “penalties” for crocheting figures like Minions or Hello Kitty (following a designer’s pattern) and posting photos of the finished products in a public album on Facebook? I mean, I’m really just showing them off—I’m not selling anything. I only crochet for myself... 

Hello blackdelphi :)

That’s a difficult question, and probably no one here in the forum can give you a legally reliable answer. Of course, anything I write here is no substitute for professional legal advice; these are just my thoughts:

For example, it’s also okay if you privately upload a vacation photo where you’re wearing a Minion shirt...

However, here is where I see the sticking point:
The designer has most likely made themselves liable by creating and distributing the pattern (because no ordinary pattern writer can afford these licenses); “approved” patterns of licensed characters are extremely rare. 
Just by downloading/buying the pattern, you may possibly be making yourself liable as well. 
(Tricky legal situation, but I explain it to myself like this: You may not be earning anything from it or distributing anything, but you are supporting something prohibited. The getaway car driver didn’t rob a bank either, for example, but they did help...)

So the work you are showing on Facebook probably shouldn’t exist in that form at all, because you presumably crocheted it from a prohibited pattern.

I don’t know what the legal situation is, but I can certainly imagine that it could cause problems.
If you want to be on the safe side, you’d better not upload a picture.

Best regards
Tina 

I can’t really help you either. I just know that you’re no longer allowed to post licensed fabrics—which were, of course, produced under license—on Facebook. So, even if you buy a licensed fabric completely legally and sew a T-shirt out of it, you’re not allowed to post a picture of it on Facebook. In the fabric industry, the guidelines are very strict and are strictly enforced by companies like Disney. In the crocheting and knitting world, I think it’s only a matter of time before the same rules apply. So, just to be on the safe side, I’d rather not upload anything.

Thanks for your answers! 

That’s really absurd, isn’t it? 1. It’s advertising for the fabric manufacturer. 2. You can hardly stop Lieschern Schmidt from posting a photo on Instagram of herself wearing a shirt she got from a friend for her birthday.

But to answer your question: Of course, I can’t give any legal advice. I’ve heard, though, that there have been warnings issued—for example, over a hat in the colors of a soccer club. But apparently the problem there was that the hat was described that way. If I take that a step further, I’d guess that posting the picture alone isn’t the problem, but rather calling it something like, “Look, I crocheted XY from Game of Thrones.”

Still, the bottom line is: the only way to be sure is not to show anything at all. In the end, you don’t even really know whether showing and naming yarns and their manufacturers is okay at all. It’s all a legal gray area that has never been fought out in court to the bitter end. That’s why no one can give you a definitive answer. It’s absurd, though, because it is and remains advertising for the brand shown.