How else could one represent Tony the tiger?
January 24, 2012 1:58 PM Subscribe
Just gave a Powerpoint presentation (for free) at a non-profit organization and liberally sampled from Google Images to fill out the slides. Afterwards, several of the attendees heaped glowing praise about the talk upon me, with a subset of them almost literally begging me to sell them the talk so they could give the talk to groups of folks they deal with. I don't want to give them my hard work for free. What must I now do to monetize this opportunity legally without getting into trouble having glommed numerous copyrighted images?
For what it's worth, the talk had a nutritional bent and had images of commercial stock images of food item such as Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Crisco, etc... Does this fall under Fair Use?
License, get permission or replace the images with similar ones you own/purchase.
You don't need to worry about brands. To be safe, acknowledge their marks and their lack of affiliation/endorsement on the foot of each slide with a prominent brand.
posted by michaelh at 2:22 PM on January 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
You don't need to worry about brands. To be safe, acknowledge their marks and their lack of affiliation/endorsement on the foot of each slide with a prominent brand.
posted by michaelh at 2:22 PM on January 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Could you replace the stock images with pictures that you took of the same items? Or find a photographer willing to retake everything and pay them for the originals.
posted by jabes at 2:29 PM on January 24, 2012
posted by jabes at 2:29 PM on January 24, 2012
Response by poster: I know no one here is my attorney, but it sounds like if I take some high quality shots of my own of these food items (e.g., a box of Frosted Flakes, a can of Crisco) that might do the trick?
posted by teg4rvn at 2:48 PM on January 24, 2012
posted by teg4rvn at 2:48 PM on January 24, 2012
I know no one here is my attorney, but it sounds like if I take some high quality shots of my own of these food items (e.g., a box of Frosted Flakes, a can of Crisco) that might do the trick?
IANAL but, yes, I believe that would do the trick because you'd be the copyright holder for the images in the presentation in this case. Michaelh's suggestion about footnotes might be wise to follow, though I don't believe that it is strictly necessary (but, again, IANAL).
posted by asnider at 3:12 PM on January 24, 2012
IANAL but, yes, I believe that would do the trick because you'd be the copyright holder for the images in the presentation in this case. Michaelh's suggestion about footnotes might be wise to follow, though I don't believe that it is strictly necessary (but, again, IANAL).
posted by asnider at 3:12 PM on January 24, 2012
Offer to give the talk yourself for a fee.
From an IP law perspective, I don't think that would put him in the clear. He'd still be earning money from someone else's work.
posted by asnider at 3:32 PM on January 24, 2012
From an IP law perspective, I don't think that would put him in the clear. He'd still be earning money from someone else's work.
posted by asnider at 3:32 PM on January 24, 2012
For this and any potential future projects, you can search flickr's collection of photos that were posted with a Creative Commons "Attribution" license, meaning you are free to use the picture any way you want as long as you credit the original poster. This is a good alternative to google images if you're interested in abiding by copyright law.
posted by contraption at 4:45 PM on January 24, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by contraption at 4:45 PM on January 24, 2012 [4 favorites]
If they're commercial stock images, you can just pay the licensing fee. This is what stock images are for.
posted by mr_roboto at 5:29 PM on January 24, 2012
posted by mr_roboto at 5:29 PM on January 24, 2012
Seconding the do the talks yourself, for a fair fee. And you might want to ask these parasites. "Hey, if I was a songwriter, would be asking me to sell you the song I just played so you can go out in a different market and sing it and tell people you wrote it?
posted by timsteil at 5:52 PM on January 24, 2012
posted by timsteil at 5:52 PM on January 24, 2012
if I take some high quality shots of my own of these food items (e.g., a box of Frosted Flakes, a can of Crisco) that might do the trick?
Yes, or do what contraption has suggested, or check Wikimedia Commons for photos like this that you are able to use. Keep in mind that it's America people can sue you for any reason, but if you are using images that you have the rights to, you are as in the clear as you can be without drawing the pictures yourself. I'd add some boilerplate "All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners."
posted by jessamyn at 5:56 PM on January 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yes, or do what contraption has suggested, or check Wikimedia Commons for photos like this that you are able to use. Keep in mind that it's America people can sue you for any reason, but if you are using images that you have the rights to, you are as in the clear as you can be without drawing the pictures yourself. I'd add some boilerplate "All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners."
posted by jessamyn at 5:56 PM on January 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
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That way you are only selling the part that is your actual work.
Otherwise, you should contact an attorney who specializes in IP and have her tell you what right-holders you need to contact. It will be worth doing so.
posted by Made of Star Stuff at 2:01 PM on January 24, 2012 [1 favorite]