Licensed Nightmares

              Now at this point in time, it should be obvious how licensed material needs to be handled. Always ask for permission before using it, and credit the original source. If you somehow can't ask for permission, still credit the source, and don't use the material for monetary gain. If the case is drawing a character for a commission though, I'm sure you'll be fine as you created it, and you're not exactly pushing a brand with it. Simple process, should be easy to handle.... But not apparently not everyone thinks that.

         Now please keep in mind I'm giving a brief summer of how I believe this is to be handled. That being said, it's still amazing how some companies and people get away with what they do. For example, I once saw someone share a neat animation, then make people pay for the link to the creator. Another case, people who play full shows to react to them, and then offer little to no reaction. Then charging to have others see it.

       

             However, then there's the issues of internal conflict, where things really get juicy! Take this commercial for Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NvDzjy4j0ZI

              The song used is 'You're So Cool' from the movie True Romance. Nintendo for permission to use the song for the ad, then we're sued in June of 2008. Turns out the studio behind the movie forgot the gaming company got permission to use it, and somewhat embarrassed themselves.

         

               If you thought that was weird, how about this? Turns out the movie It's a Wonderful Life is public domain, but the story isn't! So for the longest time, TV channels were playing the movie before the owners of the story stepped in, and stopped that. Thus, the movie became a Christmas classic where, if you have a the right set of skills, you can rearrange clips into a new story!

            So in conclusion, treat licensed material right. Look up what it's status is, respect the original creators, and double check if someone has permission to use your work. If things go well, you might just even see a great fan piece based around it! With that, thank you for reading, comment below, and stay tuned!