License to Sell Custom Dolls

Hello! I haven't found a topic matching my questions, so apologies if there is already an existing topic for this.

I'm curious about whether or not you need a license to sell custom face-ups from specific brands (like AZONE) as an independent artist/seller. I'm having fun doing face-ups but I can't own so many dolls (unfortunately)! I'm not looking to get big or profit that much and I've seen people sell on instagram, but I'd still like to know if I'm missing something before I consider selling.

I've never heard of needing a license to sell... anything doll related. I'll leave the word to those who know more than me, though.

I don't believe so? I've seen plenty of people on etsy, ebay, yahoo auctions, etc. selling heads with custom face-ups. Given the fact there's outright third party parts sold by people (such as the Kakuso torso for MDDs), I don't think it would be an issue? I suppose unless you were making, like, 50k selling heads 😆

25 minutes ago, Testament said:

I've never heard of needing a license to sell... anything doll related. I'll leave the word to those who know more than me, though.

Yeah! I never would have thought of it before I saw an auction listing mentioning it, but to be fair it was just one listing.

 

19 minutes ago, PlasticJester said:

I don't believe so? I've seen plenty of people on etsy, ebay, yahoo auctions, etc. selling heads with custom face-ups. Given the fact there's outright third party parts sold by people (such as the Kakuso torso for MDDs), I don't think it would be an issue? I suppose unless you were making, like, 50k selling heads 😆

That makes sense! 50k is a crazy amount, at that point you could sell your own original sculpts 😆 I'm relatively new to doll customization so I figured I'd ask! Thank you for the replies!

4 hours ago, dollonashelf said:

Yeah! I never would have thought of it before I saw an auction listing mentioning it, but to be fair it was just one listing.

What kind of head was it? Was it based on an existing character, and was it a second hand head originally sold at at event I wonder? A lot of Japanese events like WonFes and Dolpa do require an application for a one-day license to sell anything based on an existing IP. It’s a legal thing that’s always been kinda fascinating to me, seeing as it’s not necessary for other types of sold fanart like doujinshi.

5 hours ago, dollonashelf said:

I'm curious about whether or not you need a license to sell custom face-ups from specific brands (like AZONE) as an independent artist/seller.

As long as you’re not advertising it as being from/affiliated with an existing IP, you don’t need a license (and even then, there are some IPs that explicitly allow derivative works, like Touhou Project and even Mirai Suenaga, believe it or not).

But it’s considered very gauche to replicate or ape someone else’s work, and the Japanese doll community is especially rabid about this. There’s a lot of hobby drama in the BJD communities outside Japan too, so you may want to ensure that your work follows standard practice so you don’t get cancelled.

2 hours ago, Monty said:

What kind of head was it? Was it based on an existing character, and was it a second hand head originally sold at at event I wonder? A lot of Japanese events like WonFes and Dolpa do require an application for a one-day license to sell anything based on an existing IP. It’s a legal thing that’s always been kinda fascinating to me, seeing as it’s not necessary for other types of sold fanart like doujinshi.

It was a Penny's Box head/body and original face-up. I don't know if it was second hand, and they seemed to be selling independently as a hobby. It's also possible that I read "license" in the google translated version of the item description, but the original word could have had a different meaning.

Japan has really strict copyright laws but I don't know how they are for other countries... Speaking of which, good point is to mention that I'm based in the USA so certain laws may not apply to me. Still though, I want respect any wishes for permission if applicable.

 

1 hour ago, ragnamuffin said:

As long as you’re not advertising it as being from/affiliated with an existing IP, you don’t need a license (and even then, there are some IPs that explicitly allow derivative works, like Touhou Project and even Mirai Suenaga, believe it or not).

But it’s considered very gauche to replicate or ape someone else’s work, and the Japanese doll community is especially rabid about this. There’s a lot of hobby drama in the BJD communities outside Japan too, so you may want to ensure that your work follows standard practice so you don’t get cancelled.

I had no idea about the drama, but it tracks with how much Japanese art communities care about art theft (which is good)! I wouldn't have considered copying art styles, though I'm curious about what other (unspoken?) rules are out there for bjd communities. Thank you for letting me know!