ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

12 years ago - Matt Jamie

I was watching a Swedish crime series on BBC4 the other day (one has to, you know) and a character appeared in a t shirt with a large Ronald MacDonald picture on it with "Satan" written under it. Nothing to do with the plot or the character. I would think you have little to worry about

12 years ago - John Lubran

Just to reiterate my old hobby horse; this issue is not a matter of statute or law per se. There is no law that prohibits the use of brands and logos in a non factual film, otherwise we would not be able to use cars, clothes, airplanes, buildings and any manufactured entity for which design rights and patents apply. (Synch sound and images within factual films are nearly always free from litigatious presumption when represented truly within a parallel and coincidental context) The issue for any legal consideration is, can it be proven that harm or misrepresentation to the entity that the logo represents has occurred? Some logo owners have asserted that their brand can be unfairly damaged by association with negative situations and characters, which can only be decided by a jury, not a judge or anyone else. So it would have to be a major issue for anyone seeking to make a case of it. Susi Arnott has said it all. If logo owners wanted to limit and control their use they should not plaster their logos’ all over the place, especially on clothing.

12 years ago - David Graham Scott

Just leave it in. I don't think there will be any repercussions from including that minor detail....esp if it's not going to be broadcast. I know the US are quite picky about such things but I can't see it being a problem in the UK.

12 years ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

I would imagine US jumpiness is largely because of sponsorship and branding rights above anything else - they are important in production cashflow. If you're worried, and it is only a few frames, then just touch them, up digitally - you can export those frames from your NLE and use Photoshop/GIMP to discretely remove it/tone it down.

12 years ago - Dan Selakovich

Shahid, I really wouldn't bother. If the corporation is not ok with it, they won't sue you right away. They'll send you a letter telling you to take it out. Odds are, they won't care. Just edit your film the way it should be, not because there's a logo. You'll probably get more trouble from Virgin if they decide to air it. They'll ask if you got permission. It's then that you could simply ask the company. If they say "no," then do Paddy's thing. BTY, the reason the McDonald's is evil thing works, is because we have a parody law here in the U.S. It's perfectly legal to make fun of a corporation.

12 years ago - Susi Arnott

If you're not promoting the brand to the detriment of others, or conversely you're not defaming it, and it's a short with limited reach, and no big company is behind the production, and anyway what the hell they put these logos on things for us to SEE, we buy stuff with them on without signing any contract about how we'll deal with their publicity issues, gosh just leave it in for heaven's sake...
Now if you went and told us the brand name, and we started insulting it searchably, online, that might be another matter!

12 years ago - Shahid 'Shez' Hussain

Thanks everyone for your advice. I will have it blurred out or remove it via photoshop like paddy suggested.
If it doesn't work out then I will leave it in.

The only reason I'm being cautious is because I want to enter it in the virgin media shorts competition-they usually broadcast some shorts on their channel or in cinemas.

Cheers