10 Oct
2006
10 Oct
'06
1:13 a.m.
Hey all,
just a question: I'm working on a website which presents my collection of classic
computers.
On the left side, there will be a navigatio bar with the company names and the respective
modes.
I'd like to directly use the logos (images) of the brands in order to represent their
names.
Could I run into to difficulties doing that? E.g. a company asking me to remove it or
otherwise being confrontated
with law issues ?
For those who run a website? What are your experiences?
Thanks for any hints.
Regards,
Pierre
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10 Oct
10 Oct
1:15 p.m.
Pierre Gebhardt wrote:
just a question: I'm working on a website which
presents my collection of classic computers.
On the left side, there will be a navigatio bar with the company names and the respective
modes.
I'd like to directly use the logos (images) of the brands in order to represent their
names.
Could I run into to difficulties doing that? E.g. a company asking me to remove it or
otherwise being confrontated
with law issues ?
For those who run a website? What are your experiences?
Your website is historical/educational, which means it falls under the
Fair Use clause of the copyright act. You should be fine.
--
Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org) http://www.oldskool.org/
Help our electronic games project: http://www.mobygames.com/
Or check out some trippy MindCandy at http://www.mindcandydvd.com/
A child borne of the home computer wars: http://trixter.wordpress.com/
3:17 p.m.
On 10/10/2006 at 3:15 PM Jim Leonard wrote:
Your website is historical/educational, which means it
falls under the
Fair Use clause of the copyright act. You should be fine.
...except that trademarks (which are what logos are) are treated
separately from Copyright law--and probably a good thing too. Trademarks
are governed by the Lanham Act.
Here's a pretty good guide that should keep you out of the clutches of the
weasels:
http://www.publaw.com/fairusetrade.html
Here's another that includes a fairly recent Supreme Court decision:
http://www.cll.com/articles/article.cfm?articleid=32
Cheers,
Chuck
4:37 p.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 10/10/2006 at 3:15 PM Jim Leonard wrote:
Yes, but he's not using the marks for any sort of financial gain or
libel, so again, he should be fine.
--
Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org) http://www.oldskool.org/
Help our electronic games project: http://www.mobygames.com/
Or check out some trippy MindCandy at http://www.mindcandydvd.com/
A child borne of the home computer wars: http://trixter.wordpress.com/
Your website is historical/educational, which
means it falls under the
Fair Use clause of the copyright act. You should be fine.
...except that trademarks (which are what logos are) are treated
separately from Copyright law--and probably a good thing too. Trademarks
are governed by the Lanham Act.
4:52 p.m.
On 10/10/2006 at 6:37 PM Jim Leonard wrote:
Yes, but he's not using the marks for any sort of
financial gain or
libel, so again, he should be fine.
In fact, trademark fair-use guidelines are much more liberal and
straightforward than those of copyrighted material. "Fair use' in
copyright is a mare's nest situated in a minefield.
Cheers,
Chuck
11 Oct
11 Oct
10:13 a.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 10/10/2006 at 6:37 PM Jim Leonard wrote:
Surely it's all academic given that we don't know where the original poster
lives (they didn't say) - won't the copyright law vary wildly from country to
country? I suspect that the law which applies is the law in the site owner's
home country, which we don't know.
*generally* I'd say that putting up a bunch of logos for non-profit use should
be fine - it's not like it's doing the company any harm, or releasing
information into the wild which isn't already readily visible elsewhere. About
the worst I'd expect is a polite letter once in a blue moon along the lines
of: "our logo has changed; please take the old one down and replace it with
the new one".
As I said though, I'm sure each country's laws differ, and given the global
nature of the 'net the ones which apply are probably those for the site
owner's home country (or possibly the country in which their site's ISP is
based, if different)
cheers
Jules
--
If you've ever wondered how you get triangles from a cow
You need buttermilk and cheese, and an equilateral chainsaw
Yes, but he's not using the marks for any
sort of financial gain or
libel, so again, he should be fine.
In fact, trademark fair-use guidelines are much more liberal and
straightforward than those of copyrighted material. "Fair use' in
copyright is a mare's nest situated in a minefield.
9:38 a.m.
On 10/11/2006 at 5:13 PM Jules Richardson wrote:
As I said though, I'm sure each country's laws
differ, and given the
global nature of the 'net the ones which apply are probably those for the
site
owner's home country (or possibly the country in
which their site's ISP is
based, if different)
Given the spider's web of WTO treaties regarding intellectual property,
it's probably best to play safe. I suspect that if a multinational
requested his ISP to pull his account because of trademark abuse, the ISP
would likely comply.
Unless, of course, the OP lives in Cambodia, where IP seems to be only a
theoretical concept.
My point in posting was that trademark law is not the same as copyright
law--and that was a good thing, as generally-accepted guidelines for "fair
use" of trademarks tend to be more liberal.
Cheers,
Chuck
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cclist＠sydex.com -
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