Hi there I am about to write my first blog about something that caught my attention. So its sort of like a hobby and not that interested in writing about myself yet. So my question is, can I write a blog on anything even if it's a certain material e.g. Nike, Adidas, cars, clothes etc? Let's say I chose Nike, and I wanted to use their logo on my blog will that be breaching copyright, even if I am writing about their particular brand? I only asked, cause I've seen some blogs with a well known brand/logo and was thinking if they either got permission or maybe there is no copyright breach using the logo. Please can someone help me on this one? Many thanks in advance CHEERS
As long as you don't try to pass yourself as the brands and as long as you make that clear you should be fine. Also, try to stay away from domains that have the trademarks in the domain as that could potentially cause legal issues and you may have to turn the domain over.
But isn't it something good for the brand itself? If I am writing a blog about some product or a brand, then it should be like a promotion for that stuff. So why would they have any problem regarding that even if I use their logo?
They don't want imitation sites of themselves because even if you may not think it they may see your actions as hurting their brand. It is best to clearly differentiate yourself from the official company. Creating a site on a domain with their brand in the name can be a hassle if they contact you later because usually they ask you to turn over the domain and if you don't they have the right to take you to court since they own the brand. This can be very costly, so it is in your best interest to just stay out of their way if you can. Again, you can write about them, but there is a difference between being a third party opinion on the brand and making a site that may mislead people into thinking your site is actually an official site.
Do not buy a domain name that as the name of a company in it. If you want to know what can happen, read the story about nissan.com being sued by nissan motors. The owner of nissan.com, his last name is nissan, he has used his name for all kinds of businesses for 30 years. Nissan motors sued Mr. Nissan saying the domain name infringed on the nissan motors brand name. The lawsuit started in 1999 and lasted until 2008. Mr Nissan won, but it cost him several million dollars in court cost and attorneys fees. As for the nike logo - I would not use it. Mainly because it copyright protected. By using the name of a company, or their logo, I think you are asking for trouble.
Hey yall thanks for your input. I have seen so many sites with the actual brand name with an extra word added to their domain name and most of it is promoting them in a way. Not sure why they are not sued yet unless they have been given permission? Not sure how trademark works but that was a bit sad for Mr Nissan. His case he used the name 'nissan.com' which sounds a bit too close to infringement. However, if they were using domain names like http://www.mactips.org/ and their site is about tips on apple macs then I guess that can be a bit ok (I think) not sure though what do you think? I am so passionate to write about something to the point if I don't have to use their logo.
The companies may not care because the sites are of good quality and don't come off as the official site. They also may not have seen them yet... Something like mactips should be ok as long as again, you don't try to make it seem like it is official.
So if the company doesn't know yet, whats the worse case that can happen if they do found out? Or will they thank them for the good quality content? That sounds right "As long as you don't try to make it seem like is official"