Is this stealing?

Alright so my wife has been trying to get me into sewing… I like fandom type of stuff so whereas she likes to make potholders, I’m pursuing making plushies of characters.

I found a really cool style online of a plushie someone made but they don’t sell the pattern for it and have mentioned that they don’t want other people having it cause they made it and want it to be theirs.

Determined, I looked at alot of images of their plushies and figured out how to make almost the exact same thing… I changed the length of arms and legs but the rest visually looks the same.

The thing is, is that even though it looks the same and there is no way to contact the original person any more… I have no way of knowing if what I came up with is the same as what they used.

So I thought about selling the pattern online or doing commissions of plushies in the future…
But would that be stealing?

i think making anything off of some one elses Intellectual Property is stealing. but apparently its allowed as fan art or something.

this world runs on knockoff products, and it baffles me.

unless the other guy owns the characters, id guess its going to be way too big of a hassle to try and get you in trouble. the whole fan art thing is a powder keg imho.

but im no expert.

The topic is complex, so you’d be better asking your nearest office.

IMHO
Learning is not stealing, but rather a compliment & if you tried/did everything in your power to get all the possible info & contact about the rights, license… is alike ‘finders keepers’. You learned the skill by yourself & you apply it to your works.

In many countries the owner is obliged to take care of owned property or it becomes property of public domain. While some things simply can’t be owned, only hidden (ie. cooking recipes).

In our country this goes also for an idea - it is nothing unless it becomes something, a work - executed in any kind of medium & then exposed or published. Protected…

Ignorantia iuris nocet.

You’re heading down two avenues:

  1. Legal.
    Nobody will care or try to sue you if you sell your ripped off plushie.

  2. Growth as an artist.
    Man up and make some sketches of your own and start sewing them. You will sleep better and you can look yourself in the mirror.

If sales are low, the chance of getting a Cease and Desist order is unlikely because the guy who owns the design is not going to have any knowledge of it.

If you hit it big though and his design is making you a lot of money, then the likelyhood of getting the order or even getting sued is much higher.

What you need to consider though is this, even though selling a few knockoffs won’t get you in trouble in a legal sense, you have to realize that what is legal and what is right tend to have little to no overlap in numerous cases. Do you wish to honor the guy’s request or is making a quick buck the more important thing?

It is very, very likely that there is what’s called a Design Patent covering this toy, and vigilant lawyers who would detect attempts to sell any potentially-infringing product.

Some wholesalers, to protect themselves, insist that you must obtain a design patent on your wares, before they will agree to sell them. (And they will check.)

Yeah, it’s a huge “lawyer’s racket,” but you’d better find a lawyer to advise you on this matter. (One who specializes in this area of the law.)