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In comparison, fan art really stomped over big intellectual properties like Marvel and DC Comics, but given Matel experienced serious backlash over Barbie copyright/trademark battles, it was obvious cracking down on the fans was a bad play.
These brands probably have lost millions in licensing, but in turn, gained billions with brand recognition. (And there's a difference between a Deadpool fan piece on Etsy and a shipping container full of bootleg t-shirts).
We've already seen the same with AI, and this includes rule 34 art.
The question is more a matter of is the gain in branding worth more than the loss in licensing and potential trademark infringement?
Glitch productions has some experience in this as bootleggers went apeshit over Amazing Digital Circus (which if you haven't seen it on YouTube, check that out, even Currently Sober can afford to watch it). Content farms cranked out oodles bootlegs, and bootleg merch from the series showed up worldwide. While Glitch may have done some enforcement, their focus was on putting the pedal to the metal on their own merch, licensing deals in Japan, and filling in gaps between episode debuts. Fans have also helped by coming down on shady copycats.
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