Political org vs protest graphic re intellectual property rights
- Thread Starter toshirof
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mightymoose
Moderator
You may need to explain why you think there is an intellectual property rights issue to consider.
A legitimate claim? I guess that might depend what they claim.
Personally I see no issue at all.
A legitimate claim? I guess that might depend what they claim.
Personally I see no issue at all.
mightymoose - thanks.
An online merchandiser which offers customers and designers a market to post their graphics on T-shirts, etc., took down this design (and two other similar ones), writing:
"Your listing was removed due to an infringement claim by the intellectual property rights owner. We had previously been Contacted by legal representatives from the (name of national group); and at their request, we remove products which infringe upon their rights from the (merchandiser site)."
The merchandiser is a private company and I have no desire to argue with them about their judgement of these items (which I expected would sell poorly), but it signals to me that the national group might hassle me about my online give away of the designs. Is this type of graphic protected by the First Amendment?
An online merchandiser which offers customers and designers a market to post their graphics on T-shirts, etc., took down this design (and two other similar ones), writing:
"Your listing was removed due to an infringement claim by the intellectual property rights owner. We had previously been Contacted by legal representatives from the (name of national group); and at their request, we remove products which infringe upon their rights from the (merchandiser site)."
The merchandiser is a private company and I have no desire to argue with them about their judgement of these items (which I expected would sell poorly), but it signals to me that the national group might hassle me about my online give away of the designs. Is this type of graphic protected by the First Amendment?
mightymoose
Moderator
As far as I see it, that graphic is fair game.
It may not even be that someone actually complained about the image. The merchant site may have opted to reject it for their own reasons and fed you that standard response.
It may not even be that someone actually complained about the image. The merchant site may have opted to reject it for their own reasons and fed you that standard response.
What does that mean?
I agree that they have adopted this as a standard reply and that the national group probably has not seen my graphics, but the question remains: Would my protest graphic distributed free online infringe on the gun organization's intellectual property rights or is it protected by the 1st Amendment?
army judge
Super Moderator
You will need to HIRE an attorney and request a written legal opinion to receive a definitive answer to a SPECIFIC legal question.
You have the right to free speech. You have the right of assembly. It doesn't necessarily mean you have the right to sell t-shirts with what might arguably be someone else's intellectual property and their rights to control it. What is your question - whether the NRA can sue you or whether they will win? If the NRA sues you, then you'd better have a war chest to be able to afford the lawsuit. My guess is that if your t-shirt sales attract enough attention, you'll get a cease and desist letter and demand to turn over the revenues to them.
I don't believe you're using the exact lettering the NRA uses for their logo. So there is that working in your favor. As to whether or not you'll get sued, like everything, the questions which usually need to be answered are whether you're infringing enough to be within boundaries and the depth necessary to prompt lawsuit is dependent upon how much attention / revenues you've generated. Good luck with your endeavors.
I don't believe you're using the exact lettering the NRA uses for their logo. So there is that working in your favor. As to whether or not you'll get sued, like everything, the questions which usually need to be answered are whether you're infringing enough to be within boundaries and the depth necessary to prompt lawsuit is dependent upon how much attention / revenues you've generated. Good luck with your endeavors.
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