Can You Sell PJ Masks Merchandise on Etsy? Trademark & Copyright Rules (2026)

Catboy, Owlette and Gekko are a goldmine on Etsy. Search "PJ Masks birthday" and you'll find thousands of custom shirts, party banners, crochet plushies, cake toppers, masks and digital printables. Parents buy them constantly, the items are obviously handmade, and most sellers assume that's enough to keep them safe.

It isn't. PJ Masks is owned by Entertainment One (eOne), a subsidiary of toy giant Hasbro, and the brand is protected by both trademark and copyright. eOne is one of the most aggressive anti-counterfeiting litigants on the internet, and Hasbro sues anonymous online sellers in batches — with court orders that freeze the money in your account before you even know you've been named. This guide breaks down exactly what's protected, the real lawsuits sellers are losing, and what you can legally sell instead.

Short version: "Handmade," "inspired by," and "fan art" are not legal defences. The PJ Masks name, characters and artwork are protected by trademark and copyright, and Hasbro/eOne sue online sellers in batches with court orders that freeze your funds before you can react.

Who actually owns PJ Masks

PJ Masks began as the French picture-book series Les Pyjamasques and was developed into a TV show that debuted on Disney Junior in 2015. The brand is owned and licensed by Entertainment One UK Ltd, which Hasbro acquired in December 2019 in a $3.8 billion deal. Although Hasbro later sold off eOne's film and television production studio (to Lionsgate in 2023), it kept PJ Masks as a core preschool property alongside Peppa Pig. That means PJ Masks is backed by a multi-billion-dollar toy company with a dedicated brand-protection budget and a long track record of suing.

The franchise is also still active, not winding down. The series rebooted as PJ Masks Power Heroes, adding a wave of new diverse heroes — including Ice Cub (Ivan), the franchise's first character with a disability — alongside returning favourites Catboy, Owlette and Gekko. Hasbro continues to push action figures with "HERO ID" tech, playsets, and the PJ Masks Power Heroes: Mighty Alliances video game. A brand that's actively investing in new content enforces more, not less.

The two kinds of IP you're up against

Most sellers think about "the logo" and stop there. There are actually two separate legal rights protecting PJ Masks, and you can infringe either one.

Trademark protects the brand identifiers used in commerce: the words "PJ MASKS" and character names like Catboy, Owlette and Gekko, plus the stylised logo and the distinctive character mask designs. eOne holds federal trademark registrations covering these (for example U.S. registrations 4815385 and 5183889). Using them in your listing title, tags, or on a product to signal a connection to the brand is trademark infringement — even if you drew the art yourself.

Copyright protects the creative artwork: the specific look of Catboy, Owlette, Gekko and the rest, plus the original character and costume designs. Copyright attaches automatically and lasts for decades. Crucially, re-drawing a character by hand does not create a new copyright for you — it creates an unauthorised derivative work. A hand-stitched crochet Catboy, a hand-painted Owlette mug, or a felt Gekko mask are all derivative works of eOne's copyrighted characters.

To list a PJ Masks product legally you would need a licence covering both rights. eOne does not licence individual Etsy sellers.

The myths that get shops suspended

If you've told yourself any of these, stop.

"It's handmade, so it's fine." Handmade describes how you made it, not whether you had the right to make it. There is no handmade exemption in trademark or copyright law. Hand-making a Catboy costume just means you manufactured the infringing item yourself.

"I wrote 'inspired by' / 'not affiliated with PJ Masks.'" A disclaimer naming the brand can make things worse — you've now used the trademark and admitted you know it isn't yours. Disclaimers don't cure infringement.

"It's fan art, that's protected." Fan art has no special legal status. Selling fan art commercially is still creating and distributing a derivative work without permission.

"It's a digital file, not a physical product." Digital PJ Masks cake toppers, SVGs, party printables and clipart are if anything easier to prove and just as infringing. The file is a copy of protected artwork.

"Etsy would remove it if it were illegal." Etsy doesn't pre-screen listings. It acts on rights-holder complaints — and by the time eOne complains, you may already be named in a lawsuit. (See our guide on what to do when your Etsy shop is suspended.)

The lawsuits are real — and they freeze your money first

This is what makes PJ Masks different from a casual brand. Hasbro and eOne are heavy filers of so-called "Schedule A" lawsuits in U.S. federal courts, especially the Northern District of Illinois. In a Schedule A case, the rights holder sues dozens or hundreds of anonymous online sellers at once, listing them only as numbered "seller aliases" on a sealed attachment.

In Hasbro Consumer Products Licensing Limited v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A (N.D. Ill., case 1:24-cv-06796, filed August 2024), Hasbro went after a batch of online sellers offering unauthorised products across Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Alibaba, Wish, Walmart, Etsy, DHgate and Temu, asserting both trademark and copyright claims. Separately, eOne has publicly reported seizing more than 250,000 counterfeit products and removing more than 50,000 infringing listings across 40-plus e-commerce platforms in its PJ Masks and Peppa Pig crackdowns. This is an organised, ongoing enforcement programme — not a one-off.

Here's why Schedule A suits are so dangerous for a small seller:

The court can freeze your funds before you're even notified. These cases routinely begin with a sealed Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that orders marketplaces and payment processors — Etsy, PayPal, Stripe — to freeze the money in accounts tied to the accused listings. Many sellers first learn they've been sued when their payouts stop.

On top of frozen funds, the potential damages are severe. U.S. trademark law allows statutory damages up to $2,000,000 per counterfeit mark for willful counterfeiting, and copyright law allows up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement. You don't need to have sold many units; the numbers are designed to be terrifying, and most defendants settle or default.

If you receive any notice of a Schedule A suit, an asset freeze, or a trademark violation notice, do not ignore it — get advice immediately, because deadlines are short.

What you CAN sell

The good news: the occasion and the aesthetic aren't owned by anyone. You can absolutely sell into the "toddler superhero birthday" market — you just can't ride on PJ Masks specifically. Legitimate options include:

• Generic themes that describe the vibe, not the brand. "Superhero birthday party," "pyjama hero party," "nighttime superhero" used as genuine descriptions — paired with your own original artwork that doesn't copy the PJ Masks characters or masks.
• Truly original characters. Design your own pyjama-wearing hero with a different face, mask shape, colour palette and costume. If a reasonable parent wouldn't mistake it for Catboy, Owlette or Gekko, you're in much safer territory.
• Personalised blanks. Add a child's name and age to plain party supplies, shirts or banners with non-infringing artwork. Personalisation is a real Etsy niche that doesn't require anyone's IP.
• Complementary, non-branded products. Party games, custom invitations with original art, decorations and favours in a red/blue/green colour scheme — without the characters.

The test is simple: are people buying it because it's PJ Masks, or because it's a well-made superhero party product? If your sales depend on the brand name, you have a problem. If they depend on your craftsmanship and an original design, you're building something that can't be frozen overnight.

If you already have PJ Masks listings up

Don't wait for a complaint. Do a clean-up pass now:

1. Search your own shop for "PJ Masks," "Catboy," "Owlette," "Gekko" and similar in titles, tags and descriptions.
2. Take down anything using the names, the character likenesses, or the logo — including digital files, mockups and old listings you forgot about.
3. Strip brand names from tags and SEO. Using "PJ Masks" purely as a search keyword on a product that isn't licensed is still trademark use.
4. Replace, don't just rename. Swapping the title while keeping the same artwork doesn't fix a copyright problem.
5. Keep records of what you removed and when, in case you ever need to show good faith.

If you want a repeatable process for spotting protected brands before you list, see our guide on how to check a trademark before selling on Etsy. The same caution applies to every big character brand — we've covered the identical pattern for Peppa Pig, Bluey, PAW Patrol and Disney characters.

The bottom line

PJ Masks is protected by both trademark and copyright, owned by a deep-pocketed company (Hasbro/eOne) that sues anonymous online sellers in batches and freezes their funds with court orders before they can react. "Handmade," "inspired by," "fan art" and "it's just a digital file" are not defences. The smart move is to build superhero and kids' party products around original designs and generic, descriptive themes — so your store grows on your own creativity instead of someone else's IP.

Want an early warning before a listing puts your shop at risk? ShieldMyShop scans your Etsy listings for trademark and copyright red flags so you can fix problems before a rights holder — or a Schedule A lawsuit — finds them. Start your free trial and protect your store today.