Legal basics: copyright, trademarks and what you can sell
You can sell your own original designs, designs you hold a commercial licence for, and genuinely public domain artwork. You cannot sell other people's logos, teams, characters or brands, whether or not the customer asked for it and whether or not other sellers are doing it. When a question involves real money or a real dispute, pay for an hour with a lawyer.
Two different protections
| Copyright | Trademark | |
|---|---|---|
| Protects | Original creative work: artwork, designs, photographs, 3D models, fonts as software | Things that identify a source: names, logos, slogans, mascots, distinctive emblems |
| Arises | Automatically, the moment the work is created | Through use in trade, strengthened by registration |
| Typical owner | The artist or designer | A company, a team, a league, a university, a government body |
| How you run into it | Tracing or copying someone's artwork or file | Carving a logo, a team, a character or a brand name |
What you can sell
- Your own original designs.
- Designs you hold a commercial licence for. Read the licence. See below.
- Public domain artwork. Spec In the United States in 2026 that means works published before 1931, with the line moving forward a year each January. "I found it on the internet" is not public domain, and neither is "the artist is unknown".
- Generic subjects. A flag, a deer, a mountain, a compass rose, a state outline, a common phrase. Nobody owns the idea of a bass. Somebody does own a particular drawing of one.
What you cannot sell
- Sports teams and leagues, professional and college. Their licensing programmes are active and well funded.
- Film, television, game and cartoon characters. Including "inspired by" versions that are recognisable, which is the legal test that matters.
- Company logos and brand names: vehicles, tools, drinks, outdoor brands. Including in listing titles and tags.
- Band names and logos, song lyrics, film quotes of any length that is recognisably theirs.
- Military and government insignia. This surprises people. Service branch emblems, seals and many unit insignia are protected marks, and the branches run licensing offices. Generic patriotic and veteran themes are open to everyone. Official emblems are not, without a licence.
- Another maker's design, traced, redrawn or "changed a bit". There is no percentage of change that makes a copy safe. That rule is a myth.
One for yourself is different from one for sale
Carving your team's logo for your own garage is a different matter from selling it, and enforcement is aimed at commerce. The line is crossed at selling, at advertising that you will make them, and at making them for friends for money. CHIP is about what you do with a business, and the answer for a business is no.
Reading a file licence
When you buy a design file you buy permission, and the permission is whatever the seller wrote down.
| Term | What it normally means |
|---|---|
| Personal use | Make it for yourself and as gifts. Not for sale. |
| Commercial use | You may sell physical items you make from it. Sometimes capped at a number of items, sometimes unlimited. |
| No resale or sharing of the file | Nearly universal. You may sell the sign and not the SVG. |
| No derivative files | You may not alter the design and sell the altered file. |
| Credit required | Less common. Says whether you must name the designer. |
If a listing does not state a licence, ask before you sell anything made from it. A commercial licence from a seller who copied the design from someone else is worth nothing, which is one more reason to buy from established designers. See selling digital files for the seller's side of this.
Who owns a custom design
In the United States the default is that whoever creates a design owns the copyright in it, even when a customer paid for the work. The customer owns the sign. If a business customer wants to own the design outright, for example a logo you drew for them, that needs to be agreed in writing and is normally priced accordingly. Say in your terms that you may photograph custom work for your portfolio, and honour a request not to.
Protecting your own work
- Keep your dated source files. They are your evidence that the design is yours and when you made it.
- Marketplaces and social platforms have intellectual property report forms, and they generally act when you can show the original.
- In the United States, registering a copyright is inexpensive and is required before you can sue over it. For most hobby sellers a platform report is the realistic remedy.
The business formalities
- Structure. A sole proprietorship is the default if you do nothing: simple, and you are personally liable. A limited liability company separates business liability from your personal assets and costs a filing fee that varies widely by state. Which suits you is a question for an accountant, not a forum.
- Licences and permits. Many towns and states require a business licence, and a home business may need a home occupation permit. Selling taxable goods generally needs a sales tax registration. See taxes, bookkeeping and insurance.
- Product safety. Items for young children and items that touch food carry real regulatory and practical obligations. Use a finish that is sold as food safe once cured on cutting and serving boards, say what it is in the listing, and read the rules for children's products before you make toys to sell.
- Insurance. A homeowner's policy commonly excludes business activity and business equipment. See the same page.