Hello, I own ClubPogoCodes.com where we sell Club Pogo subscriptions at a very reduced rate compared to buying directly from Pogo. As the product's image, we use the trademarked Club Pogo image, since that is the item that is being sold. I know selling and making profit off of images themselves is illegal, but what about what we've been doing? Thanks.
You may want to contact Electronic Arts (www.ea.com) to hopefully get written confirmation that you can use their images to promote their site. If you are legitimately selling their products, there should not be any copyright issues over using their pictures or icons BUT it wouldn't hurt to get confirmation from them just to give you piece of mind.
You also seem to use the Trademark Clubpogo in your domain, but that doesn't seem to be stopping you. If you are selling these subscriptions legally, you probably should be more concerned whether EA will request you to turn over your domain to them. Then using their image, most companies will allow you to use their images (to promote the sale of their products). However, 99% of them will prohibit you FROM using their trademark in a domain or purchasing Advertising using their Trademark. As it's very easy for someone to believe they are purchasing items directly from EA when infact they are NOT.
These aren't subscriptions that were bought at a reduced rate directly from EA/Pogo, they are codes that were won from the Subway Scrabble promotion. Since the issue you pointed out is that it's easy for someone to mistake the website as Pogo's own site, what if it was made extremely clear that we are in no way affiliated with Pogo? How about a domain with Pogo in it, but not ClubPogo?
there are no loopholes in trademarks,like a disclaimer.(i think you should point that out anyway) because you have their product on your site,having any part of their name can still can be a trademark problem. even if you got written permission to use their image or name in the domain,at any time they can tell you to remove the image and try to get the domain.
Your site is a walking trademark violation and now you are selling something you got free from them? Lol just stop now. More than likely you've already been reported to EA and they are just gathering facts before they either file an injunction for you to stop pending civil action, or they send you a C&D. Stop now. I won't even recommend you contact them. You've already been acting why should they give you permission now? They are loosing money by what you are doing and it doesn't make good business sense. But, you probably don't actually care about trademark law, otherwise you wouldn't be using that domain, using their images. Oh, let us not forget the copyright infringement by using their images.
After making this thread yesterday and looking at the first couple of replies, I already made a new hosting account at hostgator. We are re-working the site and removing the Club Pogo from the domainas well as the images and are just waiting for the new domain. Obviously I care, otherwise I wouldn't have made this thread. It's just that other sites such as Pogocheats.net use their name and have been up forever, so I figured it was alright and did not know they could ask you to hand a domain over.