Unofficial merchandise is a big business for small players that Disney mostly leaves alone
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From the article:
In most cases, you won't find the gear in any official Disney store, where your mom may have bought you a Donald Duck tee and set of ears as a kid. Instead, click the tags and you'll land on some of the hundreds of small shops run by Disney devotees who have turned their fandom into full-time businesses, making T-shirts, buttons, pins, patches, jewelry, ears, and more inspired by all things Walt...
What's more surprising is that Disney isn't stepping in to curb the proliferation of shops playing fast and loose with its intellectual property — after all, many of those characters and logos are subject to copyright and trademark protection, areas that Disney has historically ruled with an iron fist.
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And I'm thankful for this phenomenon, given all of the not-quite-Star Wars shirts I have. This one in particular gets huge high fives and responses from cast members and other parents. I think it's cool, because some of it is bona fide pop art, and it may not skirt the law as much as it flirts with fair use.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
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