Pink floyd

[paul 44]

HI Folks,

I have a picture of David Gilmour of Pink Floyd which I want to put on a shirt, would this infringe on copyright, if so , who do I ask to get permission to use a basic image of him playing the guitar?

[GoonerGary]

Did you take the picture? Are you going to sell it as a Pink Floyd T shirt?

[paul 44]

Using the pink floyd name I believe is infringement right off the bat, as for the picture, no I didn't take it but I was looking online trying to get my head around it all and was led to believe that I can use images that are in the public domain and royalty free, such images exist of bands etc and Dave Gilmour but obviously come at a cost, what I am legally allowed to do is listed below (as far as I know)

• Any image or graphic that is royalty free for COMMERCIAL use.
• Any image or graphic that is considered public domain.
• Any image or graphic that is 100% your design.

As far as any image or graphic that is my design, that can cover many different things, bit of a grey area but there are obviously loads of shirts with bands, band members, logos etc, I've already had a Bruce lee image that I made from a picture taken down for infringement and told not to use but it was my design and as far as I knew public domain/royalty free

[pw66]

There are no specific 'image rights' in the UK. If you have a legitimate image, then you can use it, but there are other laws that can apply.

1 -The copyright of the image belongs to the photographer/artist unless it was commissioned by a third party, in which case the copyright probably lies with them.

2 - If the image was taken at a venue or arena then it is quite within the rights of the band, promoter and venue to stipulate 'no commercial photography' as a condition of entry to the venue. Even if you take the photo yourself, you are probably in the wrong.

3 - The same as #2 applies to 'closed' photo or video shoots - if it is in a private place then it is perfectly reasonable for the site to be declared closed, and for copyright to apply. You can't use an image taken taken by 'somebody standing next to the photographer' in this instance.

4 - Band or artist names are likely to be copyrighted. Don't attache those to the product.

5 - The artist has a right to a 'private and family life' which effectively rules out images taken on the fly.

6 - 'Passing Off' legislation might come into play. If the product you make is close enough to cause confusion as to if it is an 'official' piece of merchandise or not, then you could get prosecuted under the 'passing off' legislation. There is a high profile case involving someone called Rihanna (?) and Top Shop. Top Shop effectively copied an officially endorsed garment being sold by River Island - similar style/image/colours - and it was ruled that there was likely to be 'confusion' in the mind of the buying public, with Top Shop being fined.

[GoonerGary]

Here is a quick summary of the case.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 94691.html

What you are trying to do is trade off the reputation of a celebrity. As soon as you type David Gilmour or Pink Floyd into your listing, it will probably be removed. Is it worth receiving a solicitor's letter? As for 'public domain', usually it isn't and the copyright owner will catch up with you demanding payment.

[paul 44]

Thanks for the advice all, much appreciated, makes you wonder when people who have their own web sites, making shirts with with celebs on them all over the place, aren't taken down.

I have seen shirts with 'such and such t shirt inspired by' and then said band or artists, I have seen this on lots of listings but I'm presuming the same still applies as per previous replies on this thread.

I need to look into the 'for commercial use' license on such images but whether it is worth it in the long run I'm not sure and probably not cheap either.
At the end of the day, I could put a slogan on a shirt that I have thought of myself, this could also be trademarked/copyrighted without me even knowing it as I know this happens and companies will copyright sayings etc, ridiculous if you ask me. before you know it, we will need a lawyer before we even put print to shirt lol

[webtrekker]

It never seems to bother a lot of folk. Try typing 'personalised disney mug' into ebay to find over 1,000 listings, some of which have had a large number of sales.

People are desperate to make money these days, and it looks like they are prepared to take the risk, especially when so many others are getting away with it. Nobody wants own-designed stuff, they'd rather pay for a poor piece of Disney clipart from Google images slapped onto a mug than a design that some poor sod had spent hours over, trying to make it original and unique.

[pw66]

It is certainly not 'illegal' to do, but it it will all depend on the source of the picture. Facebook and Amazon will have their own t's and c's over and above the legal requirements.

[webtrekker]

Yeah, I suppose the main worry, especially amongst ebay traders, is that you may have your account suspended for a month, or even shut down entirely. Suspending an account results in all your kosher, non-copyrighted items, being unavailable for sale too.

[GoonerGary]

It is certainly not 'illegal' to do, but it it will all depend on the source of the picture. Facebook and Amazon will have their own t's and c's over and above the legal requirements.

How is it not illegal?

Anyway this guy has been through it all. Decisions went back and forward in his favour, but in the end, he lost and he owes £176,000 in legal costs.

http://www.out-law.com/page-3594