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I don't get your distinction: copyright infringement is illegal, so "infringing" implies "illegal"

Infringement carries both civil (noncriminal) and criminal proscriptions and liabilities under much law, e.g., under US law, 17 USC Chapter 5:

From that link, criminal copyright infringement depends on specific circumstances that don't directly apply here: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/506

It's unclear whether "here" refers to the artists spoofing Disney, or other actors pirating / duplicating artists' work for commercial use.

In the former case, I'd agree.

In the second, there's a clear violation of 17 USC 506(a)(1)(A).

It's civil vs criminal law. Illegal usually implies breaking a law and committing a crime. Copyright infringement is a civil matter, not criminal.

False.