The Court of the Copyright Gremlins (and Why Inspiration Isn’t Theft)

The Copyright Gremlins are small, sharp-toothed, and terribly loud. 

If you’ve ever made something inspired by something (or someone) else and dared to show it, you’ve probably heard them.

“Wait! That looks like… isn’t that… are you allowed to…?”

Meanwhile, the maker (me) is just sitting there thinking: It’s a pigeon. It’s a cobra. It’s a story I couldn’t shake off.

But the gremlins don’t care about story. They care about rules. They care about stamping out every trail of inspiration, as if creativity lives in a sterile vacuum and nothing is allowed to echo.

The Court of the Gremlins

One day, they put my bracelets on trial.

Judge Gremlin: “Case #247. Vincenzo & Inzaghi Bracelets. Accused of suspicious inspiration.”

Prosecutor Gremlin: “Your Honor, the evidence is damning. This bracelet with the cobra is clearly stolen from the K-Drama Vincenzo! And the other bracelet with the dove, is obviously ripped from the pigeon Inzaghi!”

Gasps from the gallery (other gremlins, practicing their shocked faces).

Maker (me, in my "what if" scenario): “But… no one owns snakes or pigeons! I was just  moved by the story, it inspired me to make something original. The cobra belongs to no one - it became my own symbol for power and transformation after watching Vincenzo. The dove became my way of honoring loyalty and unlikely guardianship.”

Prosecutor Gremlin: “Nonsense! If it looks familiar, it must be theft!”

Maker: “No. It’s storytelling. It’s translation. These bracelets carry my fingerprints, my midnight thoughts, my own hardships and hopes. The why is never ‘to copy.’ The why is always a story.”

The courtroom falls silent. Even the gremlins fidget, though they’ll never admit they understand.

LOL.

Inspiration Isn’t a Crime Scene

Here’s the truth the gremlins don’t want to hear: every authentic creation is stitched from threads of influence. Childhood memories, music overheard in passing, colors in a dream, even a fictional character who refuses to leave your head.

Naming those muses out loud should be a joy, but too often it feels dangerous because the gremlins are ready to shout, “You used someone else’s work to make money!”

But money isn’t the point, not for a truly creative mind. The point is to give meaning. To take what touched us and give it a new skin, a new form, a new chance to keep moving through the world, a new perspective.

So, What About Beginners?

If you have itchy hands (meaning if you are creative), let me reassure you that:

a) It’s absolutely okay to get inspired by anything. A movie, a video game, a book, a character, a singer, an actor. If it stirs you, it’s fair game as fuel. That’s how stories travel.

b) It’s okay to copy, too, but with one condition: treat it like following a pattern or recipe.

Copying for practice is one of the best teachers:

- You learn how raw material becomes a finished piece.

- You get to know how your own materials behave: how they bend, stretch, resist, or surprise you.

- You run into the magical “what ifs”: What if I swap this material? What if I try a different finish? What if I bend the rules instead of following them? What if Vincenzo was real and I could wear him around my wrist? How he would look like?

And, you get the chance to measure against a finished, successful piece. NOT to sell it, but to sharpen your eyes, insight and hands.

Copy → learn → outgrow → make something better.

Just don’t sell your practice copies. That’s not growth but shortcutting and heck, life has proven that shortcuts always end badly. Plus, just because something sells well, it doesn't mean that your own copy will. There are many factors that determine a product's fate, and the product itself is just a small portion of it.

c) It’s totally unfair that we often can’t even name our inspirations.

I am so excited to say, “This bracelet was born after watching Vincenzo,” and should be natural to share. But the gremlins are ready to shout, take down my listing, penalize my shop and even risk permanent suspension. And so I stay quiet, we stay quiet, when naming our muses is part of the joy.

Yes, I know I am free to share it in my own website, but can't do the same in any other marketplace, and most of the times not even on social media becuase of the Gremlins.

Here is part of the Vincenzo Bracelet's description as I listed it on my Etsy Shop: 

"A handmade leather bracelet designed for those who move with intention and speak only when it matters. Perfect for those whose power is felt, not shouted, blah, blah, blah."

No inspiration, not the actual story behind it, not the meaning I gave to it and why. The Gremlins are taking my "why" away. But the WHY is the most important thing about this bracelet! 

Here? Here I am free to shout it: 

"The Vincenzo | Cobra Edition is a handcrafted leather bracelet inspired by Korean-Italian antihero Vincenzo Cassano, consigliere, executioner in a suit, patron saint of poetic retribution. A talisman for those who carry both shadow and flame." And so on. 

This is the why. This is my why. Why I made this, why I used the Cobra instead of another pendant, why I chose these colors, why the design, what does it mean (for me), what it can mean for you. 

I have so many creations that came into life because someone else was inspired enough to create something. Here are some examples that would wake the Copyright Gremlins and have them hunt me down if I named them out loud:

My list doesn't end here but you get my point. I get inspired by K-Dramas, movies, Video Games, Poets, TikTok Trends and random stories I watch while doom-scrolling, along with my own experiences, nature, my customers stories and their feedback, suggestions, questions. Not always these creations are good enough to share, but even if I send them to the void, they have served their purpose: They kept my hands and mind busy - one day of practice is one more step towards improvement. Handcrafters can also get the "handcrafter's block", not only writers! Finding a reason to create something helps us staying consistent.

Please don’t steal other makers’ work.

There’s a difference between learning from and ripping off. We’re not competitors, we’re a constellation. Stealing only robs you of the thing that matters most: your own authenticity. Skill without consistency, practice, and a voice of your own is just a hollow trick.

If you ask me:

Are you allowed to copy? YES. It helps tremendously to improve.

Are you allowed to create Fan Art? YES!

Should you be allowed to say it out loud and sell it? YES, you should. We should. It's ART. But we are not allowed to (most of the times). 

Are you allowed to copy and sell another small maker's work? NO. You could, but it's a d*ck move, sorry. A small maker depends on their work to make a living. We have no one else to back us up but our own hands and a big heart. Be inspired, ask questions, find your own voice, speak it up. 

Closing the Case

Let the gremlins rattle their papers. Let them snarl. We’ll keep telling our stories anyway - through leather, through paint, through song.

Because creativity isn’t about erasing what came before. It’s about carrying it forward, reshaped, with our own soul pressed into it.

And if you ever find yourself on trial in the Court of the Gremlins, remember: you’re not guilty.

You’re just a maker. And #makersgonnamake.