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[resurepus]

I have come up with this idea and have requested cafepress.com to print this image on t-shirts
(http://www.designcontest.net/images/INY.jpg)

I have received the following message from them:

We apologize for any inconvenience this matter may have caused you.  Unfortunately, we feel your use of the likeness to the "I (heart) NY" design is problematic as it could potentially infringe upon the rights of the trademark holder.

As you may know there are two distinct Intellectual Property Rights (copyrights/trademarks) in the artwork that you create.  The first Intellectual Property Right belongs to the party who created the artwork or design.  The second Intellectual Property Right belongs to the individual or business that owns the rights to the content being depicted in the artwork.

For example, if you create a design that looks similar to Mickey Mouse, even if you own the rights to the artwork or drawing, you may not own the rights to utilize the likeness of Mickey Mouse.  Therefore the use of Mickey Mouse for sale of merchandise in this example may infringe on the rights of Disney.

Similarly, your use of the likeness of the "I (heart) NY" mark may infringe on the rights of the individual or organization that holds the Intellectual Property rights to the content.

The question is: do you really think the "similarity" of my design with the original I(heart)NY image is sufficient to say that I break any intellectual property regulations? Thanks in advance for any imformation and ideas.

[Isaac]

Your design raises some interesting questions.  I have to admit to being caught off guard when the image showed up on my screen at work.
I see an argument that the design is similar enough to cause confusion, but I also see some potential free speech based defenses.  Possibly you could prevail, but I understand why a vendor might not want to embark on a windmill tilting test of the 1st Amendment with you.

[JSonnabend]

I don't think Cafe Press' actions speak at all to the real merits of your situation.  They speak only to Cafe Press' desire to avoid unnecessary conflict in conducting their business -- a reasonable desire, undoubtedly.  

My initial reaction (personal issues aside), is that your expression likely would not likely cause confusion in the market under traditional analyses, but might be in trouble under a dilution analysis.

There's probably nothing you can do to convince Cafe Press to publish your t-shirts, but you can find a zillion other t-shirt printer who will do it for you, albeit not on-demand as Cafe Press does.

- Jeff (in NYC)