Copyright

[Deleted]

hey just wondering if it would be illegal/theft if i were to take a world of warcraft logo and put my own text in and use as a cover on YouTube?

I.E: put my YT name inside of

[Netherspark]

Only if you make money from whatever the logo is attatched to or claim you created/own the design.

[Lochton]

Seen many use the logo background. I think only reaction to be taken is if you earn a profit on the use/display of it.

[Deleted]

seen a lot of videos / youtubers or what ever use that, and images on the net use it, as long as you're not making profit from it, i think it would be ok.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

You will only get penalized if you try to make a direct profit off of it. (ie, selling something with the logo on it)

[Deleted]

thank you
If I made money from YouTubing (monetising my videos) would that count as using Blizzard logos on my cover to help me?

[Deleted]

thank you
If I made money from YouTubing (monetising my videos) would that count as using Blizzard logos on my cover to help me?

i'd say its probably fine if its just used as an intro on a video, but i really don't know

[Deleted]

Guessing my question is a bit daft if people are monetising videos of WoW

[toomes211]

Just make sure you put a notation somewhere in the description like, "Logo copyright blizzard entertainment." I mean, you're probably okay. Blizzard isn't really a bunch of hardasses on monetized youtube channels, but if you really want to be safe you'd likely have to talk to someone who's an expert in copyright law or something.

[Edds]

think it would be a problem if you were selling stuff with that logo

[Deleted]

OK thanks all for the input! One more quick question and I have seen this done by other Youtubers, by mixing other companys game characters all together in one picture to show the variety of your channel's videos and that seems wrong to me without asking permission. do companys care for that?

[Edds]

i see alot of people do that. if your using youtube i think you should be more worried about copyright music

[SlippyCheeze]

hey just wondering if it would be illegal/theft if i were to take a world of warcraft logo and put my own text in and use as a cover on YouTube?

Soooo.... lots of people told you this was fine, or fine for non-commercial use. The bad news is that you cannot legally use that for anything, at all, without explicit permission from Blizzard. (Well, the copyright holder, which in this case...

The Blizzard legal FAQ gives you specific answers, including general guidance about what you can and cannot do.

The good news is that you can use that, provided you maintain and display they appropriate copyright notices, and don't sublicense it to anyone else. Read the FAQ, which is good, and the linked "what notices you must show", and it looks like you are good.

Be wary, though, that you can't, eg, use this in any sort of merchandise, so if you absorb that as your logo for YouTube you can't, eg, sell a t-shirt with it on no matter how popular you are. Except as allowed in copyright law for parody, etc, for which you *really* want to consult a lawyer.

[Nebs]

The misconception here is that as long as you're using it for non-commercial use, it's legal. As the above poster indicated, using it for anything is illegal. They own the copyright to the image, and thus have unfettered rights to restrict anyone from using it for any purpose. Whether or not it is for commercial use only matters in regards to the likelihood of Blizzard doing anything about it. If you, or anyone else using their copyrighted images, are not deriving a profit, it is not worth the legal fees for them to pursue infringing users. However, if your channel gains substantial popularity, and let's say you're making a lot of money from advertising, there is a chance they would look into it.

Copyright is tricky, and there are numerous tests courts use to determine whether infringement has taken place. In this case, you're using the entire image, really without any modification other than removing the text. It is very likely that if you were to derive a substantial profit from using the image, Blizzard would have a valid claim for infringement. If you want to be extra cautious, I would not use the same font that is used in the original image.

This is just my opinion without really consulting the FAQ or their licensing agreement. A copyright owner is permitted to allow others to use the image with certain restrictions, so perhaps they allow such use as you are intending in the licensing agreement.

Is it likely that Blizzard will do anything about it in this case? No, probably not. Be wary of others telling you they've seen other YouTube channels doing something similar. Just because a lot of people are doing it has no effect on its legality. What it does indicate, however, is Blizzard's reluctance to pursue those users. All in all, you're probably okay to use it, just don't become a millionaire off of it.

[Gimlix]

Just say that the logo basic frame comes from Blizzard and you claim no rights what so ever from it.

[Nebs]

Just say that the logo basic frame comes from Blizzard and you claim no rights what so ever from it.

This doesn't really do anything from a legal standpoint. It's about as effective as saying "No copyright infringement intended." Your intent in using a copyrighted image is irrelevant, the fact that you have actually done so makes you liable for copyright infringement, regardless of any disclaimer you include. Furthermore, you actually are claiming rights from it, the right of reproduction, which is exclusively in the domain of the copyright holder.

[klogaroth]

I think the best bet is to see if you can get in touch with whoever owns the material you want to use, in this case Blizzard.

Different companies care different amounts about how people use their intellectual property. If you can find an email address to drop them a line you can make sure they are ok with what you plan to do.

Only the harshest of companies will do anything more than politely request that you stop using their stuff at first anyway. Most likely if they aren't ok with it they'll just ask you to remove it and stop at that if you comply. As long as you keep the original videos you can just edit the image out and re-upload them.

[Deleted]

I've got the Slender Man, Trevor from GTAV, Blizzard Logo with text edited, and a car from NFS Shift, With random weather/fantasy effects. All in one image that i am only using for a cover on my YT channel and a cover on my FB page. (I have not been or planning to put it on the front of any of my videos) Not sure if I should post it here for you guys to see?

and maybe I should find time tomorrow to email all of the above company's to ask if it is ok using for that purpose only.

[SlippyCheeze]

I've got the Slender Man, Trevor from GTAV, Blizzard Logo with text edited, and a car from NFS Shift, With random weather/fantasy effects. All in one image that i am only using for a cover on my YT channel and a cover on my FB page. (I have not been or planning to put it on the front of any of my videos) Not sure if I should post it here for you guys to see?

and maybe I should find time tomorrow to email all of the above company's to ask if it is ok using for that purpose only.

That actually isn't a terrible idea. As I said, the Blizzard FAQ actually covers the general shape of what is or isn't OK to use their content for -- and they are pretty liberal, so you should be OK in my opinion. The others, though, yeah -- check what the fansite / general grant for GTAV and NFS Shift content is. Some places are way more serious than others about this, and you would usually find out when you got a DCMA notice taking down your content...

[Yunru]

If you recolor a logo into something like pink color the copyright wont apply.
Simple as that. Same goes for music that is heavily modified (like changing a pop song into rock).

However if you used wow logo with your name like you said then it can be taken down.

Think of the logo like a fan art.

United States:

The legal status of derivative fan made art in America may be tricky due to the vagaries of the United States Copyright Act. Generally, the right to reproduce and display pieces of artwork is controlled by the original author or artist under 17 U.S.C. § 106. Fan art using settings and characters from a previously created work could be considered a derivative work, which would place control of the copyright with the owner of that original work. Display and distribution of fan art that would be considered a derivative work would be unlawful.

However, American copyright law allows for the production, display and distribution of derivative works if they fall under a fair use exemption, 17 U.S.C. § 107. A court would look at all relevant facts and circumstances to determine whether a particular use qualifies as fair use; a multi-pronged rubric for this decision involves evaluating the amount and substantiality of the original appropriated, the transformative nature of the derivative work, whether the derivative work was done for educational or noncommercial use, and the economic effect that the derivative work imposes on the copyright holder's ability to make and exploit their own derivative works. None of these factors is alone dispositive.

American courts also typically grant broad protection to parody, and some fan art may fall into this category. This has not explicitly been adjudicated with respect to fan art, however. Moreover, while parody is typically afforded protection under § 107, a court must engage in a fact-intensive, case-specific inquiry for each work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_art#Copyright