Hi, I'm making a fansite for a celeb and would like to know if there are any legal concerns with using their name in the domain. e.g. www.kermit-the-frog.com The site will contain all original and legal content. Apologies if this appears to be a noob question! hehe?
It's trademark infringement - but you can't predict whether or not they will go after you or take the domain (many people make the mistake because another site is infringing, it must be ok). In the most simple terms, you can't ride the goodwill that someone else has built when registering a domain name - and many times (not in this case), it's the content that decides if the domain name is infringement- i.e. the owner of madonna.com lost a very valuable domain (and about a million in legal fees) to the singer - not because she had exclusive rights to use the name, but because the former owner of the domain put content about the singer on the site. Had he kept content about the singer off the domain, he would still own it.
As long as you label the site as being the "Unofficial Kermit the frog fansite" then you should be OK.
There is no legal basis for that. A disclaimer can work on the content of the site, but not with the domain name. A person has to visit the site before they see the disclaimer, and that is why it doesn't give you legal protection. Some trademark owners may decide not to go after you if you have a disclaimer - but they legally could. Mike Rowe (real name) lost his domain (mikerowesoft.com) because the name was infringement (phonetic names can be infringement) and his content was not about microsoft, and he had a disclaimer.
Agreed. http://mazzystar.nu/ is the biggest Mazzy Star fan site, and #1 position in Google, even above the official Mazzy Star site. So they obvioulsy haven't been penalized. (yay, post #800 I believe)
Infringement is infringment, set up an original business and make real money from your own efforts You will earn much more money, and the big plus is you get satisfaction And guess what, you can sell on an original business
Google doesn't have a penalty and they have no way to tell who is authorized to use a trademark and who isn't. He wanted to know if there could be any legal problems with using the name. The short answer is: It's possible because it's trademark infringement. Just because the legally could, doesn't mean they will. If you are going to put a lot of work into a site, just be aware that at some point it is subject to be taken if it infringes on a trademark. There are many cases where the trademark holder has looked the other way, and many where the trademark holder has taken the domain. The Disney company owns the rights to this mark and they have been known to be agressive in protecting them. Many video gaming companies are known for looking the other way and not doing anything. I didn't see advertising running on mazzystar.nu - and this can also factor it. If you put adsense or other forms of advertising on a site, it becomes a commerical site regardless of how much money it makes. If a site is not commerical and generate any form of income, it is subject to less problems. Most posters on DP are talking about sites that have the intent to generate revenue.
So I guess technically its trademark infringement but it depends on the trademark owner on wether they want to shut you down. Making it clear that the site is a fan site and not linked to the celeb is good practice but doesn't really mean anything in legal terms. Thanks for you help guys.
Yes - infringement is infringement. The biggest myth is that if you put "for entertainment purposes only" or some crap like that you can commit copyright and/or trademark infringement without problem. Again, the issue that comes up is whether someone will take the time and effort to shut you down. However, do note that you may put in a boatload of effort and at that point someone will simply send you a cease and desist and all that effort goes out the window - your choice.
Sorry to open up this thread again, but even for celeb names they can take it from you??? How can you trademark a name?
You can't trademark a name someone else is already using, for the same type of usage. In the case of a celebrity, it is impossible to trademark their name and then create a site about the celebrity. It the most simple terms, you can't rush out and try to profit off the trademark/servicemark and goodwill created by someone else - you need to be the first person to use the name, for that particular usage.
Check out this page - http://fanweb.cjb.net/ Now... as far as 'fair use' laws go for pictures... If you were give the images to use, can you not claim ignorance and say you will remove them??
It doesn't matter if you bought the site and the pictures came with it, or if you hired a designer who told you they had permission to use the photos, if you use a photograph without permission, the site owner is legally responsible for paying any damages and usage fees. Saying you "didn't know" or "removing the pictures immediately" doesn't get you off the hook. It is your responsibility to make sure you have permission to use every single photo or piece of artwork on your site.
No. There is no percentage of modification that gets around copyright infringement. It's simple, you can't use any part of someone elses work without their permission.
Crappy I wonder why so many people keep buying designs from me Oh well, lol that's their problem in the end.
The vast majority of fan sites are guilty of copyright infringement - and probably only a small percentage are caught. The celebrity usually could care less about the use of their photo, however, they aren't the ones who usually own the rights to it. It's the photographer or photo agency that will sue someone and the celebrity has no say in the matter. Usage fees of 1,000-$5,000 per photo are not uncommon. The site owner would likely be sued, and then of course, they would turn around and sue whomever sold them the site to recover any losses. Copyright infringement can be a criminal charge so it's not something you can get out of by having a disclaimer signed or having an LLC. In extreme cases, people have gone to prison for several years for copyright infringement.
Hmm, as far as I know they can't sue you for selling them a site. Once it's in their hands it's their responsibility to look into the usage of the photo's.