2025-08-20 10:22:52 ¶ ● ⬀ ⬈

##

I keep seeing these "statement begins" hoodies advertised on tiktok and I just wanna make sure, RQ hasn't licensed merch rights to anyone correct?

jonnywaistcoat:

> [THESE ARE MY PERSONAL VIEWS AND I AM NOT SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF ANY COMPANY FOR WHOM I HAVE WORKED]

> Right, I’m not on TikTok and I’m not looking this up, but I get a lot of asks similar to this so I’ll try to unpack it a bit. The short answer is: Don’t Tell Me About This Shit. As a rule of thumb if an unlicenced product is visible enough to be bothering you, you can assume whoever owns the appropriate copyright has seen it and is taking what action they can.

> Speaking more generally. Creative Commons (which we released TMA under) says you can do whatever you like with the podcast, the universe and the characters as long as you don’t make any money from it. That’s pretty simple, pretty clear. And to be honest, I’ve worked with a lot of companies and the attitude is almost always the same, even when it’s not explicitly CC. Its only when money gets involving that things get complicated.

> Obviously no-one actually wants to punish small fan artists taking commissions or the like, but here’s the thing: legally you have to enforce your copyright or you can straight up lose it. And given the era of ripped-off and AI-generated slop we exist in, that means if a company is aware of copyright infringement, they have to take action.

> Now, basically no company in the creative space actually has the resources or manpower to be actively hunting down everyone selling a few dozen keychains with a weird princess or a good cow printed on them, so if something gets big enough that it organically crosses their path, it’s probably big enough that does genuinely need to get slapped down.

> But the thing is, if I’m made aware of any of this stuff, I gotta tell ‘em. So do not fucking tell me. Do not ask me if it’s ok to sell your cool unlicenced merch. Do not ask me to promote or endorse it(!) If you give me a fun little present at a signing, do not tell me you’re also selling it. And if you’re someone who’s done one of these things already: No You Fucking Didn’t.

> So yeah, it’s very much a situation where everyone’s hands are tied, so just be chill and trust that if someone is properly taking the piss, the company involved will spot it and take the appropriate action.