Yet another Copyright thread - Commercial use of Product images

[terry.langham]

Decleration: I will not be taking any of the replies in this thread as legal advice and in the event that I am not able to satisfactorily determine, from legal or government documents, what I require or my responsibilities, proper legal advice will be sought.

I am about to undergo a revamp on my business (boat accessory design and manufacturing) website. After reading a recent thread by Lani about the use of a car, I thought it would be in my best interest to research my rights and requirements to use pictures of boats (I don't make them) with Canopies (that I do make) on the website. I will be photographing a new product specifically for this revamp, but will need to put it on a boat. I have 2 options for this:

Option 1: New boat, supplied from a dealership we currently have a working relationship with. Will I need permission from the manufacturer for this?

Option 2: Privately owned boat, supplied by an existing or new client with permission and perhaps compensation. Again will I still need permission from the boat manufacturer? Or alternatively if I select a boat made by one of the many manufacturers that no longer exist will it make things simpler?

Below is a rough mock up of what I envisage the site will look like throughout, with different boats for the different products, and the stamp (proudly aust made) replaced with text. I would also like to have a gallery of previous work as well.

New FP Draft.jpg

In this sample the products we make are the bright green bits and the black thing with shiny legs tucked away towards the back of the boat

Cheers
Terry

[terry.langham]

Oops. Just realised I posted this in f/stop when it would probably be better in Commercial. Could a kind hearted mod please move it if necessary

[Kym]

1. If it is clear that the brand of boat is known then probably yes as they maybe an implied endorsement, which *could* be disclaimed (i.e. the boat in this image is for illustrative purses and not necessarily endorsed by manufacturer )

2. I'd also put "image of boat owned by XYZ used with permission for illustrative purposes"

Either way get some advice.

[terry.langham]

Thanks Kym.

I hadn't actually thought of a disclaimer. Will have to add them to my 'To be reasearched' list.

Something I forgot to mention in the original post is, all the photos on the website will be taken by me so as to ensure I own copyright to the photos. It is the use of 'models', ie the boats, that I am unsure of.

I have a couple of links saved for when I get time to do some "light" reading, however I am always eger to learn from someone elses experiences.

[Kym]

Sure your own the image © but the commercial use is the bit that will bite you.

As long as its not an endorsement of your product (which is why the disclaimer)

[terry.langham]

*post deleted at members request*

[terry.langham]

Here is the response from IP Australia with reference to a product that is a registered design.

My question: Can I use an image or photograph of a product in advertising an accessory for that product?

Their response: I can only give you an unqualified opinion. As long it is made clear that you are not claiming ownership of the product (ie, acknowledging any existing copyright, patent, trade mark or design rights that exist), it should be fine.

[Wayne]

Hence why you see on many print and TV adverts something that states words along the lines of "ABC is a registered trademark of the XYZ corporation"

[Longshots]

Trademark of a name and copyright are two distinctly different areas

Quote from IP Australia:

What is a Trade Mark?

A trade mark can be a word, phrase, letter, number, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or a combination of these. A trade mark can also protect your brand name.

It is used to distinguish the goods and services of one trader from those of another.

A registered trade mark gives you the legal right to use, license or sell it within Australia for the goods and services for which it is registered.

The difference between trade marks, business, company and domain names sometimes causes confusion. Registration of a business, company or domain name does not in itself give you any proprietary rights - only a trade mark can give you that kind of protection. For more information click here.

Terry if I were you I'd send your question to the Australian Copyright Council:
http://www.copyright.org.au/

As your question is specifically about Copyright, they would be the best to offer some advice. But as I'm sure you'll realise, they too will offer a similarly guarded response.

[terry.langham]

Cheers William. I currently have a request in with the Copyright Council for legal advice in regards to this situation.

This pdf seemed to have the most relevent information, however it still seems to be a bit of a grey area as the product being advertised is not a direct competitor to the 'functional article' in question. Hopefully the CC can give me some clear legal advice, however I am not holding my breath.