Am I heading into copyright infringement issues with my blog concept of using advertising material?
Please I need help with another of these copyright infringement issues with the use of images in blogs. I wish I could make up my own mind, only the more I read about it, the more I am confused. Not to mention I am bias of course.
I have in mind to create a blog where I would use vintage advertising prints from a very specific industry to illustrate (keyword here?!) my posts.
The themes of the posts will not be in any way focusing on the brands. The goal will not be to bash that industry, even though it is a controversial one.
Yet these ads, through their pop culture and aesthetic value, would undoubtedly be central to the (potential) success of my blog.
Ex: for a post on the concept of peak oil, I would have a copy of a 1953 ad for brand X featuring a guy whose car broke down and another one of brand Y featuring oil rig workers. Note: I am not, in any way, discussing brand X or Y.
But in all honesty some posts may refer to the specific image at hand, for example, for satirical purposes, or to discuss graphic design issues.
Some other details you may want to take into consideration:
- some of these brands are still in business, others not.
- this blog may be monetize in the future, depending on the audience it attracts.
- I don’t think I would want to spend the time begging for written permissions.
Bottom line, am I safe (and the fair use doctrine is giving me some hope) or am I walking on very, very thin ice and heading into trouble? Would blurring the brands, even though I would rather not, help in any way?
Thanks in advance for all answers, both short ones and long ones.
3 Responses
magpieix A.L.M.N
18 Aug 2010
madmax18765
18 Aug 2010
get a lawyer.. tell him/her your case or situation and they will do alot of work… but first email whoever is using your work and tell them they cant use your work or you will sue
dragon
18 Aug 2010
It is a copyright issue. For the companies that have gone out of business however they are very unlikely to have someone who is still holding the copyrights who would sue you. If you are sourcing the material as an example of something then they again may not. The likelihood is most brands would not care and leave you alone. They would probably just ask you to take the image down if they did have issue with it rather than suing you anyway.
To make yourself safest without putting in much effort I would just email all the brands currently still operating and let them know you are using the image a day or two before you upload. If they have an issue with it then you can take it down later otherwise you have at least informed them and they had adequate time to state objection.
"But in all honesty some posts may refer to the specific image at hand, for example, for satirical purposes, or to discuss graphic design issues."
In these particular cases, the images would come under "Fair Use".
Just using them as illustration might be trickier.
You actually have two separate but similar issues here–copyright and trademark, don’t neglect the second, because that’s where you could get into serious trouble.