copywrite infringement

[trishwosere]

Could anyone tell me please that if, for example, a cartoon character was used as part of a companies logo would the said company be breaking copywrite laws??

many thanks for all/any replies

 

[SudsyKat]

What you're referring to is a trademark. If one company trademark's their logo, which includes an original cartoon character, and another company uses that cartoon character in THEIR logo or other materials, then that would be a trademark infringement. Funny story, I actually saw a rinky dink food truck the other day with a Bob's Big Boy (the character) drawn on it. Flagrant and absurd trademark infringement (it was quite obviously not a Bob's Big Boy truck)! I had to laugh.

 

[trishwosere]

What you're referring to is a trademark. If one company trademark's their logo, which includes an original cartoon character, and another company uses that cartoon character in THEIR logo or other materials, then that would be a trademark infringement. Funny story, I actually saw a rinky dink food truck the other day with a Bob's Big Boy (the character) drawn on it. Flagrant and absurd trademark infringement (it was quite obviously not a Bob's Big Boy truck)! I had to laugh.

Many thanks for your reply SudsyKat, so basically what I need to know is there any legal implication as to using a Disney/Warner bro's cartoon character as part of a company's trademark logo?

 

[SudsyKat]

Yes, I'm sure Disney (any major company) has trademarked all of their characters. Heck, big bad Disney has probably trademarked and copyrighted their restaurant menus and the pattern on the toilet paper at Disneyland!

 

[trishwosere]

Yes, I'm sure Disney (any major company) has trademarked all of their characters. Heck, big bad Disney has probably trademarked and copyrighted their restaurant menus and the pattern on the toilet paper at Disneyland!

now that's funny...thank you lol

 

[Fyrja]

Hi there,

I work as a graphic designer, so it's a given that I have to avoid anything that can be construed as copyright infringement at all times. When in doubt I refer to the URL listed below. It's a really tricky field. My best advice to you would be to just work up entirely original artwork for your brand. That way it's unique and you don't have to worry.

Hope this helps!

http://cpm.aiga.org/legal_issues/copyright-basics-for-graphic-designers

 

[Hazel]

Disney will find you...eventually. You don't want to mess around with them. I remember years ago they sent a cease and desist letter to a jewelry maker who had made a few silver and turquoise rings in the shape of what's-his-face. You know - that rodent.

I was disgusted. I thought why pick on this poor old woman? She only had a little shop and it's not like she was making million$ on them. :roll:

 

[carebear]

Disney will find you...eventually. You don't want to mess around with them. I remember years ago they sent a cease and desist letter to a jewelry maker who had made a few silver and turquoise rings in the shape of what's-his-face. You know - that rodent.

I was disgusted. I thought why pick on this poor old woman? She only had a little shop and it's not like she was making million$ on them. :roll:

They MUST protect their trademark from EVERYONE. if they let ven the occasional little old lady get away with it, they take a huge risk and could lose their exclusivity. Don't look down on them for it.

 

[Hazel]

Disney will find you...eventually. You don't want to mess around with them. I remember years ago they sent a cease and desist letter to a jewelry maker who had made a few silver and turquoise rings in the shape of what's-his-face. You know - that rodent.

I was disgusted. I thought why pick on this poor old woman? She only had a little shop and it's not like she was making million$ on them. :roll:

They MUST protect their trademark from EVERYONE. if they let ven the occasional little old lady get away with it, they take a huge risk and could lose their exclusivity. Don't look down on them for it.

Couldn't they go about it in a less threatening manner? Why couldn't they have said politely either stop or we will allow you to make these if you pay a royalty fee? I think they were heavy handed in the way it was done. But I guess that's the way of all big businesses.

 

[Tabitha]

Hazel,

If it was your sketch you spent millions of dollars perfecting & you saw me selling copies of it on my website as my own, you would not be pleased w/ me either, even if I only sold a few.

A cease and desist letter is standard practice; it's not mean, nor is it picking on anyone. They probably send out a couple hundred a day & have neither the time nor the desire to check & see how many have been sold. It wouldn't matter anyway. Breaking the law is breaking the law whether you sell 5 or 500. If you run a red light a cop doesn't ask you have you run 5 or 500 red lights in your life and only ticket those who have run over a certain number.

Everyone knows you can not use someone elses image. Most people believe they will not get caught. There are soapmakers on this very forum who have aknowledged they know they are breaking copyright laws but won't stop untill they get the letter.

Copyright must be enforced or none of us are safe from theft.

 

[Hazel]

Tabitha & carebear -

Okay, I do understand what you're both saying and I agree but I felt bad on her behalf. I never thought much about copyrights & trademarks, etc. This has been an enlightening discussion since it's caused me to think about this topic. I don't really make labels for my scrubs and soaps. I just print ingredients on regular paper, cut it out and tape it to a container or baggie. (Anyone who's received something of mine in a swap would probably have noticed this tendency. )

Thanks.

 

[Cirafly24]

Disney is known to come down extremely hard on anyone who is infringing on any of their trademarks. They make a large portion of their money from royalties for licensing their intellectual property to other companies. They're not about to allow someone to use any of their IP without charging hefty fees.

 

[lsg]

There is really no need to infringe on copyright by using someones trademark images. By using a desktop publishing program and free domain one can come up with thousands of images. Use a little imagination and pick out something that is along the same line as an image you really like.

 

[trishwosere]

Many thanks to everyone for their replies, I am truly enlightened...thanks all

 

[oh2bejoy]

This discussion brings to mind a Kenny Loggins concert I went to a few years ago. His breakthrough hit was House on Pooh Corner. He wrote it when he was a teenager. Kenny said Disney let him slide because they probably figured, he's a kid...nothing will come of it....

But little did Disney know that the song would become a HUGE hit and it would lose out on a cut of the millions he made on that song! Not only does Disney have to protect its branding, but the company also has to protect its income stream....

edited to make all the pronouns match

 

[maya]

What you're referring to is a trademark. If one company trademark's their logo, which includes an original cartoon character, and another company uses that cartoon character in THEIR logo or other materials, then that would be a trademark infringement. Funny story, I actually saw a rinky dink food truck the other day with a Bob's Big Boy (the character) drawn on it. Flagrant and absurd trademark infringement (it was quite obviously not a Bob's Big Boy truck)! I had to laugh.

Many thanks for your reply SudsyKat, so basically what I need to know is there any legal implication as to using a Disney/Warner bro's cartoon character as part of a company's trademark logo?

disney protects its copyrighted characters like NO other company. they are famous for the slightly wiff of infringement being squashed immediately and have sence the very beginging of of their characters. in other words they will sue you for everything you have or will ever own. and all succesive generations of your progeny will be paying it off. do not go there.

 

[Soaplady22]

I read, somewhere awhile back, that McDonald's tried (or did) get a small pub called McDonalds in Scotland to change its name. And it had been around longer than the hamburger chain.

You can run but you cannot hide.

 

[Tabitha]

Hello Kitty makes sweeps through etsy from time to time. They don't mess around either.

Bath & Body Works does (did) sweeps over on ebay as well. 12 years ago (before I had a clue about the industry) I had listings that were pulled when BBW did a sweep through ebay. I don't remember what they said, probably Love Spell type, similar to, compare to, etc.

 

[Lindy]

If you don't feel like you are able to design your logo yourself there are wonderful companies out there that do this for a living. Although I have some design background and design all my own labels, I hired a company to create a logo for me because my time is better spent in other areas. I am thrilled with the suggestions they sent back and it was really hard to choose the one to go with....

So if you want a cartoon write a description of what you want as well as how you would like it laid out and send it to a designer and get them to send some ideas back to you. You'll be glad you did and you won't have to worry about copyright / trademark infringement which save you huge as time goes on....

 

[lovelysuds]

Funny you should say that Hazel. My sisters future MIL recieved a call from Warner Bros about a month ago claiming she'd be in big trouble if she didnt remove the hand crafted jewelry from her store. Its not a tiny store but youd never think theyd find out, sure enough their radar was up. She took it down IMMEDIATELY they said the fine was over 250,000 and i can see why.

i have a SUPER DUMB question, what happens with tattoo artists then? i always see disney characters and trademarked logos on skin? hows that work?