Are there copyright laws in effect for non-union web series?
Friday, March 5th, 2010 at
10:57 am
We’re looking to make a reality web series, and want to have people talking around a bar. Can we show different liquor bottles in the background behind the people as they talk, or would we have to get clearance from each of the different alcohol companies? We plan to monetize the website through the normal means: affiliate marketing, Google adsense & pay-per-click advertising, so this may definitely affect the answer to this question.
Many thanks!
Tagged with: copyright • effect • laws • nonunion • series • there
Filed under: Pay Per Click Affiliates
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This isn’t copyright, it’s trademark, and yes, it’s in effect for anything you show in public. Clearances are a big hassle for an independent production, so I wouldn’t spend the time or effort. The safest and simplest thing to do would either be to shoot the bottles out of focus, or make your own labels.
Yes, you would have to seek permission. However, I wonder if you can approach it from the standpoint of asking if they want to purchase product placement rights in your video? Don’t know if that is valid or not, but might make you some money or if offered for free might induce them to grant you permission to not blur their labels.
You aren’t advertising or selling the products shown in the videos, so there is absolutely no trademark issue here. You do NOT need permission from anyone to “show” a trademark as an incidental part of a background. This gets a little gray if you FOCUS on some particular object, say, have a long dialog about “Coca Cola” as a product. If the discussion is about “CocaCola” as a company, without trying to sell anything, you’re probably safe again (at least for a trademark and copyright standpoint). “Look honey, Jane has a Gucci bag” (shows bag) — not a trademark problem unless the prop being used is a forgery.
On the other hand, certain vendors might PAY you to promote their products by making them more prominent in the video, and they will provide you with the necessary paperwork, explaining what they want from you in exchange for the payments they will make.