Hi Sailor94708-ga,
That was an interesting question, and I enjoyed looking up the answer
for you.
Please know that I am not an attorney and am not licensed to practice
law. The information I give is readily available and is already set
out for the simple layperson to understand.
The simple answer to your question, "I want to copy video images from
another web site ... What are the legalities and can I legally copy
them?" is "no".
It is not legal to copy the images without Fox's express permission to
use the images on your website, and you cannot coy from the other
Website without their permission, either. It's a sort of double whammy
'no'. Using the images without the studio's express permission is
copyright and, in some cases (depending on the movie), trademark
infringement against Fox, and again against the owner of the other
Website.
Using the search functions listed below, I found the following
information from, for example, Fox (sine they have the copyright on
the graphics for the movie you mentioned, Die Hard.
Fox has information regarding the use of its images, trademark or
other copyrighted material on its website at:
http://www.fox.com/community/askfox/index.htm
Using the following - Fox >> Information >> FAQ >>
No. 13. "How come unofficial sites are being shut down?"
"... Fox must require all websites using copyrighted and trademarked
materials to comply with guidelines that protect the creative
integrity of the programs they represent. ... Some examples of
inappropriate uses we have found include:
(a) using copyrighted photographs, images and sounds which have not
been approved for distribution;
(b) removing Fox's copyright and trademark notices and asserting
ownership by a third party, or asserting that copyrighted and
trademarked materials are in the public domain;
(c) copying or altering text, photographs, images, designs and logos
from official websites without permission or attribution;
(d) copying or altering photographs, images, designs and logos from
programs in a manner that denigrates the programs, the actors or the
characters they portray;
(e) using photographs, images, designs and logos to promote a product
or commercial business or service;
(f) carrying advertising for parties not associated with the programs;
and
(g) offering unlicensed merchandise for sale; ..."
The US Copyright Office's information at
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/
"What does copyright protect?
Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original
works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and
artistic works such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer
software and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas,
systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way
these things are expressed."
As you can see, you cannot copy from the other Website without their
permission; and even if you did have their consent, you certainly
cannot use any of the studio images without the consent of the studio.
As the owner of a Video Store, I am sure you already have an agreement
with the studios about the display of their copyrighted material.
A check of other sites advertising (again, using the example Die Hard
that you used) all attribute the work as Copyrighted to Fox and the
year. You can see how Amazon displays the copyright information at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6301208773/qid=1043884983/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-0427663-1242448#product-details
Search functions:
A quick check on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/
for the Movie Die Hard showed the copyright was owned by Fox, the
successor in interest to then 20th Century Fox.
Then I searched Google for the following terms:
VHS: Die Hard - ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=VHS+Die+Hard
Fox: Copyright - ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=fox%3A+copyright
US Copyright Office -
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=us+copyright+office
If you have further questions about copyrighted material, it never
hurts to consult with an attorney who specializes in copyright law.
Hope this answers your question,
Serenata |
Clarification of Answer by
serenata-ga
on
29 Jan 2003 18:09 PST
I'm sorry if you thought I said the other website owns the copyright
on the cover of the video - they do own the copyright on their own
website's contents, not on the video cover. I didn't mean to imply
that.
Whether or not they have permission to run the cover art, (and
somewhere on the website it should say Copyright © 1987 20th Century
Fox), unless you have permission to run the cover art on your own
site, it is fine, if you have permission to copy the the cover art
from the other site and run it on your own, that is fine, too.
But if you don't have the permission of the other site, and the
permission of the studio to reproduce their product (the cover art) in
the media, it constitutes copyright infringement.
Blockbuster has blanket copyrights to advertise the products in the
form of express written permission from all the studios. Amazon and
Target and the like also have expression to run the cover art in
adverts ... and they often do. You'll notice, too, that somewhere in
the page they also follow the other conditions in that they have the
copyright info there.
To reply in regard to what you want to do. If you have the permission
from the other site (whose content is likewise covered by copyright)
and from the studio, you can run it. Otherwise, copying an image from
another website for use on your own is copyright infringement.
Hope this clarified it for you,
Serenata
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