[gregcohn]

I'm sure their licensing contract requires the 3rd parties to warrant intellectual property ownership and indemnify vs. any claims related to it.

So the artist may end up negotiating with the handbag maker, but they might benefit from starting out making a claim against Disney.

[thaumasiotes]

If Disney is the one selling the bags, surely they are the only party it would make sense for the artist to make a claim against?

If I, A, lie to you, B, and as a result you take a supposedly-harmless action which is in fact a tort against aggrieved party C, I would expect you to be liable to C, and myself to be liable in turn to you. What did I do to C?