Fnatic Group | Fan Art Policy
Introduction
Fnatic has the most passionate fans in esports. We love that our fans want to express their dedication to the black and orange by creating art and other creative things which feature Fnatic’s name and logo.
At the same time, huge global brands have invested a lot of money to associate themselves with Fnatic. (Thanks, huge global brands!) That money is what helps Fnatic to recruit great players and staff, and keep growing our business. If anyone can associate their brand with Fnatic, then no-one will want to pay Fnatic to use the brand any more. To keep the lights on, we have to be very clear for what our brand can and cannot be used.
In this policy, we use the term “fan art” to describe any content which wasn’t created by Fnatic and which features:
- our name and/or logo
- a derivative of our name/ logo (where a “derivative” is a creative work which is based on or inspired by Fnatic’s name/ logo)
- any content which Fnatic has created, including memes and original video content displayed on our streaming channels
Fan art includes drawings, videos, podcasts, blogs, websites, streaming content, tattoos and any other expressions of creativity that you can imagine.
Unless agreed otherwise in writing, this policy applies to any use of Fnatic’s intellectual property (as summarised in the bulleted list above) in any medium anywhere in the world. By using Fnatic’s intellectual property you are deemed to have accepted this policy. Any use of Fnatic’s intellectual property which doesn’t comprise “fan art” requires Fnatic’s express prior written permission.
The Golden Rules
We have three golden rules for you to follow in creating fan art.
Keep it free
You can’t sell or licence fan art (or anything which incorporates it). Other people must be able to view, access, use and share fan art without any barriers and without having to pay you or get your approval. So, you can’t require surveys, downloads, subscriptions, or email registration to access fan art. Obviously, it also means that you can’t sell products which feature our intellectual property, or commercialise our intellectual property in any context.
However, you can benefit from traffic to your website or social platforms which is driven by your fan art. So, for example, if your site incorporates sponsorships, generates you ad revenue or includes a donations button, that’s fine. You can also include fan art in a portfolio.
Be respectful of other people’s rights
If you don’t have the right to use content in your fan art, don’t use that content.
Two key points here: first, attribution - the process of giving “credit” (for example, by @-ing the source of the content in a social media post) for a work you are using - does not get you off the hook. You need the original creator’s consent. Second: as a general rule, you should never crop or edit an image that includes a rights notice (e.g. © A. Creative) or a watermark. That’s just rude.
Similarly, please be respectful when creating your works. Anything which breaches Fnatic’s Social and Community Policy isn’t a good use of your creative talents and isn’t fan art. You must take it down if we ask you to.
Don’t make false claims
One route to working at Fnatic is to keep producing amazing fan art which aligns with this policy. (You should definitely @ us when you post up your work.)
One route to never working at Fnatic is to claim that you work for Fnatic (in any capacity) when you don’t.
What else?
Fnatic ultimately gets to decide who uses its intellectual property. We reserve the right to determine what is and isn’t a reasonable use. If we ask you to do so, you must remove any fan art from public display.
By creating fan art, you give us permission to (deep breath) use, copy, modify, distribute, and make derivative works of that fan art in any form, on a royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide basis, for any purpose and without having to credit you, pay you anything, or obtain your approval. To the fullest extent permitted, you waive any moral rights you have or may have to be identified as the creator of fan art.
You may not register domain names, social media accounts, keyword searches or anything else which incorporate the name “Fnatic” or the names/tags of any Fnatic personnel. You may not register apps or any other form of software or code which features Fnatic’s name or logo.
If your use of Fnatic’s name or logo results in a claim against Fnatic or any of its affiliates (or their respective employees or directors), you are responsible for any fees, expenses or costs (including legal fees) and any resulting judgment or settlement.
If you would like to commercialise any of Fnatic’s intellectual property, our partnerships team would love to hear from you (via partnerships@fnatic.com). If you have any other queries regarding the applicability of this policy, please contact legal@fnatic.com.