(c) question

[nickhjort]

So what's the deal with copywright stuff for, say, vinyls or a paint job on the side of my car? Like if I wanted to draw fanart of a videogame character or something else like that. Is that legal or would I get sued? Let me know Thanks! :)

[joey1320]

i don't think you would get in trouble. you are promoting the game...
what are you trying to do?

[nickhjort]

I'm obsessed with Mega Man and I think a cool, like, Mega Man shooting kinda thing would look good along the length of my car
but I don't know yet. I have to draw it up and see if it looks good. Photoshop it on my car and see :) I would draw an original version of him, not use an image from the game or something already used somewhere else.

[hasher22]

takin pictures without permission is illigal..........

[kurokoma-kun]

I used to deal with copyrighted images all the time, so I learned a little about copyright law. You'd think something like this would be covered under fair use, but the law is vague; here's a link to wiki article re. fan art.

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache...lnk&cd=1&gl=us

Though in the end, the copyright holder has to see it and complain, and then all you get is a cease & desist letter from their lawyer, it's not like they'd come and take your car away (I think )

[cali yaris]

kurokoma has it right. I would do it not worry about it. The core issue is that you are not profiting by using the image(s).

[BailOut]

The simple fact this topic even came up is a sad testament to the state of things here in the U.S.

[eTiMaGo]

Yes, by using an unauthorized picture of a company's property you are supporting terrorism, so don't do it.

Seriously, like was said above, as long as you don't attempt to make some money out of it, or use it to impersonate a Capcom employee, or anything like that, what can they do?

[seriousfun]

This isn't a copyright issue.

It is a matter of Trademark law. The owner of the trademark (first user, used in interstate commerce, registered with the US Governement, etc.) has the exclusive right to use this registered image. If you use this image without authorization from the owner, you are infringing on his rights. The owner could sue for damages. Would they? Who knows.

This is not, legally, a matter of whether you profit from it or not, or whether you are promoting the product or not.

IANAL.

[kurokoma-kun]

Originally Posted by seriousfun

This isn't a copyright issue.

It is a matter of Trademark law. The owner of the trademark (first user, used in interstate commerce, registered with the US Governement, etc.) has the exclusive right to use this registered image. If you use this image without authorization from the owner, you are infringing on his rights. The owner could sue for damages. Would they? Who knows.

This is not, legally, a matter of whether you profit from it or not, or whether you are promoting the product or not.

IANAL.

Not all copyrighted images are trademarked. Copyright (at least recently) is implicit in the creation of an original work, whereas trademark must be applied for, similar to a patent.

Agreed that profit has no bearing on right to use.

[Thirty-Nine]

I wouldn't worry about it.

[brickhardmeat]

invent your own character



What is Copyright?

Much of the information you will find in our “Copyright Basics” sections has been adapted from information found on the official website of the U.S. Copyright Office; see “Links” to go directly to the Copyright Office’s site for additional, more detailed information.

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) to the creators of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available for both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:

To reproduce the work in copies or phono records;
To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
To distribute copies of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
To display the copyrighted work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
In the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
In addition to copyright, certain authors of works of visual art also have the rights of attribution and integrity as described in section 106A of the 1976 Copyright Act.

It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright law to the copyright holder.



...could you imagine the arrests, all the white trash fucks with tazmanian devil tattoos

[seriousfun]

Originally Posted by kurokoma-kun

Not all copyrighted images are trademarked. Copyright (at least recently) is implicit in the creation of an original work, whereas trademark must be applied for, similar to a patent.

Agreed that profit has no bearing on right to use.

Well put, but since he said that he was going to make his own image, I feel that if action were taken, they would cite the mark, not the image (and I assume the Mega Man mark is registered in the US).

[seriousfun]

Originally Posted by brickhardmeat

invent your own character


...


...could you imagine the arrests, all the white trash fucks with tazmanian devil tattoos

And the pissing Calvins...

[kurokoma-kun]

Originally Posted by brickhardmeat

...could you imagine the arrests, all the white trash fucks with tazmanian devil tattoos

[Thirty-Nine]

Trust me -- you won't have any problems. I deal with copyright and trademark on a daily basis.

[brickhardmeat]

seriously, I think it should be fine too, now if you were to use this character as an advertisement for your donut shop or something I see a possible problem but basically this will be an artistic portrayal of something that is now part of popular culture, it has been done and I think it should be fine

[kurokoma-kun]

Originally Posted by Thirty-Nine

Trust me -- you won't have any problems. I deal with copyright and trademark on a daily basis.

However, depending on his design, he could be cited by the fashion police!