Copyright question.

[gripper stebson]

Can you use someone's surname without permission on a product you intend to sell.

For instance if you sold a subutteo player with just the word Zamora on the back would you need Bobby's permission being that it's not his full name.(ps - this is not the reason i want to know!!)

Cheers NSC.

 

[readingstockport]

I think it probably depends on whether you are either passing off or are in some way implying consent from the 'celebrity'. Personally I would say there is a fookin good reason copyright lawyers are very rich people and would advise you to steer clear of whatever you are thinking of doing. If it is for charity or fun then write to the celeb and ask. Don't EVER do it without their permission unless you have a lot of money you want to give away to them very shortly.

 

[gripper stebson]

I think it probably depends on whether you are either passing off or are in some way implying consent from the 'celebrity'. Personally I would say there is a fookin good reason copyright lawyers are very rich people and would advise you to steer clear of whatever you are thinking of doing. If it is for charity or fun then write to the celeb and ask. Don't EVER do it without their permission unless you have a lot of money you want to give away to them very shortly.

Cheers Boss.

How do you reckon Cult Zero's get away with it?

 

[readingstockport]

I'm not a lawyer grip but I would say it depends on whether the 'copyright' owner wants to defend their property. Harrods, for example, are notoriously vigorous in prosecuting anyone who seems to infringe them.

oin the opposite extreme The Grateful Dead actively encouraged people to tape their concerts and release the bootlegs.

It entirely depends on the person.

 

[Nibble]

You're not still intent on launching your Cocy Cola drink are you Stebson? You didn't learn your lesson after the Popsi Cola debacle of 86? I haven't seen stubbornness so singularly personified since Mandela tried to redeem his Green Shield tokens.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

Is this for the Twitter aggregation idea or something else?

 

[KZNSeagull]

Have you asked permission to use Gripper Stebson as your user name?

 

[gripper stebson]

Have you asked permission to use Gripper Stebson as your user name?

Haha. Like it.

Back in the day I was in a band called Stebson. Mark Savage (the actor who played Gripper) came to one of our gigs and was a nasty little tw*t. Proper right wing Nazi type.

We spent the whole evening trying to get him to go away!

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

My understanding of copyright law is that it is there to protect the original owner.
So if what you intend to do will in some way "damage" them, they can use copyright law to defend themselves.

Typically this will be copying something they own, usually a brand name or product, as this damages them in the form of lost revenue.

If you use a person's name I'm not so sure this falls under copyright law unless the name is used in branding - eg Walt Disney.
However, there could be a case for damages if the name holder perceives that your use of his name did in some way cause him damage. Using your example, if Bobby Zamora thought having a subbutteo player bearing his name damaged his value or reputation then he could chose to bring a case.

It is for the plaintiff to prove the loss [damage].

As others have suggested, by far the safest thing to do is contact the copyright holder or person if you are using their name. So long as your use of their name is not derogatory, I can only see the person approving your use - they may even choose to formally endorse it giving you a boost.

This is only my opinion.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The copyright (if any) surely belongs to the person who wrote the word Zamora on the back of the Subutteo figure? Whether that person had a right to do so will depend upon whether Mr Zamora had any image rights and whether those rights extend to receiving a payment in exchange for his name being used in this way. If he has licensed this use of his name, it then becomes a question of whether the licence is transferable to another user of the Subutteo figure. It is extremely unlikely that Mr Zamora has any right to restrict the subsequent sale of a Subutteo figure that he has already licensed to be embellished with his name.