Can You Sell Celebrity Products on Etsy? Right of Publicity Laws Every Seller Must Know

Walk through any popular Etsy search and you'll find them everywhere: Ryan Gosling prayer candles, Taylor Swift friendship bracelets, Pedro Pascal cross-stitch patterns, celebrity portrait mugs, and "Property of Travis Kelce" sweatshirts.

They're selling. Some of them are selling well.

So they must be legal, right?

Not exactly. And the law that governs most of these products — the right of publicity — is one of the least understood legal risks on Etsy. It's not copyright. It's not trademark. It's a separate body of law that protects a person's name, image, and likeness from unauthorized commercial use.

If you're selling anything that features a real person — their face, their name, a caricature, or even a distinctive catchphrase — this guide is for you.

What Is the Right of Publicity?

The right of publicity gives every person the right to control how their name, image, voice, and likeness are used for commercial purposes. It exists in some form in over 30 U.S. states, either through statute or common law.

The core principle is simple: you cannot use someone's identity to sell products without their permission.

This applies to celebrities, athletes, musicians, influencers, politicians, and in many states, ordinary people too. Unlike copyright (which protects creative works) or trademark (which protects brand identifiers), the right of publicity protects the person themselves.

Here's why that matters for Etsy sellers: even if you draw a celebrity portrait entirely from scratch — no copied photos, no traced images, 100% original artwork — you can still violate right of publicity laws because you're using that person's likeness to sell a product.

Why This Isn't Just a Copyright or Trademark Issue

Most Etsy sellers have heard of DMCA takedowns and trademark complaints. But right of publicity claims operate differently.

Copyright protects the specific expression of an idea. If you take a photographer's image of a celebrity and print it on a mug, the photographer (or their agency) can file a DMCA claim. But if you paint your own portrait of that celebrity from memory, the photographer has no claim. Copyright doesn't protect the celebrity's face — only the specific photo.

Trademark protects brand identifiers. If a celebrity has trademarked their name (many have — "Taylor Swift," "Beyoncé," "LeBron James" are all registered trademarks), using that name on products can trigger a trademark complaint on Etsy.

Right of publicity fills the gap between these two. Even if your artwork is 100% original and you don't use the celebrity's trademarked name, you can still be liable for using their recognizable likeness to sell merchandise.

This is the law that catches sellers who think they've found a loophole by drawing original art or using phrases like "inspired by" instead of the celebrity's name.

What Celebrity Products Actually Get Sellers in Trouble?

Let's look at the most common product types and their real risk levels.

High Risk: Celebrity Portrait Products

Products featuring a recognizable depiction of a celebrity — whether a photograph, digital illustration, watercolor painting, or AI-generated image — carry the highest risk. This includes:

• Portrait prints and posters
• Custom prayer candles with celebrity faces
• Mugs, phone cases, and tote bags with celebrity imagery
• Caricatures and cartoon-style depictions (if the person is identifiable)

Even original artwork falls under right of publicity if the subject is recognizable. The legal test isn't whether you copied a photo — it's whether a reasonable person would identify the celebrity in your product.

High Risk: Name-Based Merchandise

Products that use a celebrity's name, nickname, or well-known catchphrase to sell merchandise are similarly risky. Examples include:

• "Property of [Celebrity Name]" apparel
• "[Celebrity] Fan Club" accessories
• Products featuring distinctive catchphrases associated with specific people
• "As seen on [Celebrity]" marketing language

Many celebrity names are also registered trademarks, which adds a second layer of legal exposure through Etsy's trademark complaint system.

Medium Risk: Fan Art With Transformation

Some fan art may be defensible under the First Amendment's protections for artistic expression, particularly if it's highly transformative. Courts have recognized that artistic works that add significant creative expression beyond merely depicting a celebrity's likeness may be protected.

The key legal test comes from a California Supreme Court case (Comedy III Productions v. Gary Saderup) which asks whether the work is "transformative" — meaning it adds significant creative elements that go beyond merely being a literal depiction.

A photorealistic portrait on a mug? Not transformative. A surrealist painting that incorporates a celebrity into an elaborate fantasy scene with substantial original creative content? Potentially defensible — but still risky on Etsy, because the platform will remove listings based on complaints without evaluating fair use defenses.

Lower Risk: Commentary and Satire Products

Products that constitute genuine commentary, criticism, or satire have stronger legal protection. Political commentary products, satirical artwork, and parody items may be defensible under both the First Amendment and fair use principles.

However, "lower risk" does not mean "no risk." Even legally defensible products can result in Etsy takedowns, because Etsy responds to complaints by removing first and asking questions later.

How Celebrities Actually Enforce on Etsy

Understanding enforcement helps you assess real-world risk. Here's how it typically works.

Direct trademark complaints. Celebrities with registered trademarks (or their management companies) file trademark complaints through Etsy's IP reporting system. This is the most common enforcement method and results in immediate listing removal plus a strike on your account.

DMCA takedowns. If your product uses a copyrighted photo of the celebrity, the photographer or agency can file a DMCA takedown. This is separate from right of publicity but often happens alongside it.

Cease and desist letters. Some celebrities and their legal teams send cease and desist letters directly to sellers before filing formal complaints. If you receive one, take it seriously — it means they've identified your shop and are building a record.

Licensing company sweeps. Many celebrities work with licensing companies that actively monitor Etsy for unauthorized use. Companies like Authentic Brands Group, WME, and various sports licensing agencies run regular sweeps of the platform. When they find violations, they typically file complaints in bulk — meaning your entire shop could receive multiple strikes at once.

The "everyone else is doing it" trap. The fact that thousands of celebrity products exist on Etsy does not mean they're legal. It means they haven't been caught yet. Enforcement is selective and unpredictable. A celebrity who ignores fan merch for years can suddenly decide to crack down, and when they do, every shop selling their likeness gets hit at once.

If you've read our post on why some shops sell Disney designs for years without getting banned, the same logic applies here. Lack of enforcement is not the same as permission.

The State-by-State Problem

One of the trickiest aspects of right of publicity law is that it varies dramatically by state. There is no federal right of publicity statute in the United States.

Some key differences:

California has one of the strongest right of publicity statutes (Civil Code § 3344), covering name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness. It applies to both living people and deceased celebrities (for 70 years after death under Civil Code § 3344.1).

New York has a more limited statute (Civil Rights Law §§ 50-51) that covers name, portrait, picture, and voice used for advertising or trade purposes.

Indiana has a broad right of publicity statute that is not limited to celebrities and survives for 100 years after death.

Some states have no right of publicity statute at all, relying instead on common law (court-made law) that may be less developed.

For Etsy sellers, this creates a complicated situation: your product might be sold to buyers in any state, and the celebrity might be domiciled in a state with strong protections. In practice, if a celebrity or their legal team decides to pursue you, they'll choose the jurisdiction most favorable to them.

What About Deceased Celebrities?

This is a common question: can you sell products featuring celebrities who have passed away?

The answer depends entirely on state law. In California, right of publicity protections last for 70 years after death. In Indiana, it's 100 years. In New York, the postmortem right of publicity is more limited.

This means that products featuring recently deceased celebrities — or even those who died decades ago — can still generate legal complaints. Elvis Presley's estate, Marilyn Monroe's estate, and many others actively enforce right of publicity through licensing companies.

The estates of deceased celebrities are often more aggressive about enforcement than living celebrities, because licensing revenue is a primary income source for the estate.

What Is Actually Safe to Sell?

Given all of these risks, here's what you can do to build a celebrity-adjacent product line without putting your shop at risk.

1. Sell Generic Aesthetic Products

Instead of a "Taylor Swift Eras Tour" bracelet, sell friendship bracelets in similar styles without any celebrity name, likeness, or direct reference. You're selling the aesthetic and the trend, not the celebrity.

2. Use Etsy SEO Strategically (But Carefully)

You cannot use a celebrity's trademarked name in your product titles, tags, or descriptions to drive traffic. This is trademark infringement regardless of what's on the actual product. However, you can describe your product's features, colors, and style using generic terms that happen to align with trending searches.

3. Create Truly Transformative Art

If you're an artist, focus on work that adds substantial creative transformation. Abstract interpretations, commentary pieces, and works that use a celebrity's image as one element of a larger artistic statement have stronger legal footing than literal portraits printed on products.

Be aware, though, that "transformative" is a legal conclusion that ultimately only a court can make. Etsy won't evaluate transformation before removing a listing.

4. Get a License

The only way to sell celebrity-themed products with zero legal risk is to obtain a license from the celebrity (or their estate/licensing company). For major celebrities, this is typically expensive and involves minimum order quantities. But for smaller public figures, influencers, or local celebrities, direct licensing arrangements may be achievable.

5. Sell Original Characters and Designs

The safest path is always original work. Create your own characters, develop your own artistic style, and build a brand that doesn't depend on someone else's identity. This protects your shop and builds long-term value that can't be taken away by a single complaint.

What to Do If You Receive a Right of Publicity Complaint

If your listing is removed or your shop receives a strike related to celebrity products, here's your action plan:

Step 1: Don't panic, but take it seriously. A single complaint won't shut down your shop, but multiple strikes will. Read Etsy's notification carefully to understand exactly what's being claimed.

Step 2: Assess your exposure. How many listings in your shop use celebrity names or likenesses? If the answer is "most of them," you need to proactively remove or rework those listings before more complaints arrive. Rights holders who find one violation will often search your entire shop.

Step 3: Understand your response options. For trademark complaints, you can contact the complaining party directly to resolve the dispute. For DMCA complaints, you can file a counter-notice if you believe the takedown was improper. For right of publicity claims specifically, your options are more limited — there's no formal counter-notice process like DMCA provides.

Step 4: Remove and rework. Take down any other listings that could attract similar complaints. Rework your product line to remove celebrity references while keeping the designs that customers love.

Step 5: Document everything. Keep records of all communications, complaint notices, and the dates you removed listings. If you need to appeal a shop suspension later, this documentation will be critical. Our guide on how to appeal an Etsy suspension walks through the full process.

The Bottom Line

Celebrity-themed products are one of the most popular — and most legally risky — categories on Etsy. The right of publicity gives real people control over how their identity is used commercially, and this applies whether you're using photos, original artwork, AI-generated images, or just a name.

The fact that celebrity products are everywhere on Etsy creates a false sense of security. Enforcement is inconsistent, but when it comes, it's often sudden and sweeping. Building your business on celebrity products means building on a foundation that can be pulled out from under you at any time.

The smartest approach is to develop original products and designs that stand on their own. If you do sell celebrity-adjacent products, understand the specific legal risks, keep your exposure limited, and have a plan for what you'll do when (not if) enforcement catches up.

Need help assessing your shop's risk? ShieldMyShop scans your listings for trademark, copyright, and right of publicity red flags before they become complaints. Start your free trial and find out where your shop stands today.