IP attorney types - logo copyright question

Sac Arrow

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I'm asking for a friend. Okay, I'm asking for myself, but it is over a disagreement with a friend on the use of a product logo on commercial artwork.

Scenario, you have a Toyota Prius depicted on a fiction novel cover... no, scratch that, nobody would put a picture of a Prius on a fiction novel cover. Let's say it is a Kenworth truck, and the KW logo is visible on the top of the radiator grill. The image used for the truck isn't copyrighted. My friend thinks that having the Kenworth logo visible in the image is a copyright infringement. That doesn't sound correct to me. Who is right?
 
You got me. I thought you were going to copyright the female Asian restaurant worker image. LOL
 
The image used for the truck isn't copyrighted
My friend thinks that having the Kenworth logo visible in the image is a copyright infringement.
Trademarks (logos) and copyrights are separate laws and protections. Informational use of trademarks doesn't require permission from the holder. I've used OEM trademarks in various written articles vs obtaining permission to use copyrighted material. But even that has an option under the Fair Use option. However, just remember every tangible creation is copyrighted. Whether the copyright is expired and the item is in the public domain is usually the pertinent question.
 
The biggest question to ask is is this being used for a commercial purpose or not? Selling the books? Part of education program? More details man.... Need more detail. We use images all the time at work and it passes our legal muster, but we get an educational pass. Just had a discussion on this two weeks ago during a PowerPoint lecture. Imagine that.... A PowerPoint inside a lecture on better use of PowerPoint. I wanted to go drink strychnine.
 
The biggest question to ask is is this being used for a commercial purpose or not? Selling the books? Part of education program? More details man.... Need more detail. We use images all the time at work and it passes our legal muster, but we get an educational pass. Just had a discussion on this two weeks ago during a PowerPoint lecture. Imagine that.... A PowerPoint inside a lecture on better use of PowerPoint. I wanted to go drink strychnine.

Just simply a part of the cover artwork, that's it. No promotion of trucks, Kenworth or otherwise. Just incidental to the theme. No use of the logo to promote anything, at all.
 
I'm asking for a friend. Okay, I'm asking for myself, but it is over a disagreement with a friend on the use of a product logo on commercial artwork.

Scenario, you have a Toyota Prius depicted on a fiction novel cover... no, scratch that, nobody would put a picture of a Prius on a fiction novel cover. Let's say it is a Kenworth truck, and the KW logo is visible on the top of the radiator grill. The image used for the truck isn't copyrighted. My friend thinks that having the Kenworth logo visible in the image is a copyright infringement. That doesn't sound correct to me. Who is right?

I dunno. But now I got a visual of a Kenworth squashing a Prius that I cant get outta my head
 
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Here, you can use this picture of a Kenworth.
 
You've got two issues:

1. Copyright.
2. Trademark.

Trademark is really the more operative issue. If you use the Toyota mark in a way that is likely to confuse others to believe that you are allied with Toyota, you can expect action. If you just show a Toyota on the cover in a way that isn't going to engender confusion, then you're probably OK.
 
It's not an easy question. Copyright protects creative design. In the case of a logo, whether it is entitled to protection turns on how creative it is. Copyright doesn't protect a mere name, color, or a simple logo design. OTOH, if it is very creative, it might. Sorry, it doesn't get any easier than that and I'm not about to give an opinion on it.

Trademark protects a marketing interest. A trademark is used to differentiate products and its protection is tied to the market. So we see products in different markets bearing the same name. No one is going to confuse Corolla lager with the Toyota model of the same name, so they can both exist without confusing one with the other. That's not absolute. There are trademarks which have become so famous that they get extra protection. "Coca Cola" is a good example.

So, they, and their protections, are different. Copyright protects creativity so it protects any use ("fair use" excepted). Trademark only protects against product confusion.
 
I don’t know how you quoted me saying something I didn’t say. Can you fix your post to remove my name from the quote?

I’m not sure either, but I corrected it. Sorry about that.
 
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