We support artistic expression here at Football is Life so pretty much anything you can think of can be uploaded as a design. There are, of course, some exceptions regarding copyright and design content. Unfortunately these are complicated matters and we are not able to provide legal advice. Here is some general information that may be helpful to you as you create.

Trademark/Copyright Issues

There could be legal trouble if:

1. You use the official club logo or name without permission.
2. You use a club nickname without permission.
3. You use a player's name or signature without permission.
4. You use pictures of groups of players or individual players without permission.
5. You copy an existing design. Be unique!

Here's what you need to know about trademarks:

• Club Logo: It's usually protected as a trademark, meaning only the club can use it on official stuff.
• Club Name: Clubs might also trademark their name, but it's only for the whole name, not just part of it. For example, using Liverpool would be fine but Liverpool FC or LFC may cause issues.
• Club Nickname: If a club has a nickname, they might trademark that too, to keep it special.
• Player Names: Players might trademark their own names or signatures, but not everyone can do this.
• Signature: Some players even trademark their signature. So, using it without permission could get you in trouble.

Simply avoiding using a trademark isn't enough to be okay. If people might get confused and think your stuff is official club stuff, that's a problem. Everything on our website is described as independently created, fan made, or unofficial. If you make it look like you’re selling official club products then your designs may be removed and we reserve the right to close your vendor account for repeat offences.

Copyright and trademark are notoriously difficult to define, and in reality, we usually only find out something is in breach once a complaint is made. As long as you're creating your own art and sticking by these guidelines then you should be fine.

Once again, this is not legal advice, if in doubt you should contact a lawyer.

Offensive Designs

We get that banter is a big part of football culture, and we’re not going to stop you from creating designs that have a dig at rival teams. There are, of course, lines that cannot be crossed. These include:

1. No Hate Speech: We don't tolerate any language or images meant to hurt or encourage violence against any group of people. If your content comes across as hateful, it doesn't belong here.
2. No to Racism: We have zero tolerance for designs that promote racism in any way. If your content could be seen as provocative or hurtful, it will be removed from our site and commissions could be withheld.
3. Keep it Peaceful: We're not fans of violence. Content that makes violence look cool or doesn't take it seriously isn't allowed. This includes anything that might encourage violence or hate. Any reference to football tragedies will result in immediate suspension of your account.
4. Stay True, Stay Fair: We don't allow anything that's meant to unfairly damage someone's reputation. If it's likely to cause harm or is spreading false info, it's a no-go. However, if it's just an opinion or a fair critique, that's okay.

If you’ve spotted any content on the site that violates any of these guidelines, please report it to help@football-is-life.com for immediate investigation.

We're all about celebrating the love of football here at Football is Life, so let's keep it positive and respectful!