Ron Jeremy!
Ha Ha Ha
Selling quickly.. Is it? Is it?
Yeah, I was right... So what did you pay to use the space needle in your ad Ben?
http://seattletrademarklawyer.com/b...different-from-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of.html
"If you are trying to break into selling your photography as stock photos, or you're a small business who has recently discovered the joy of using low cost stock photography in your print or online publications, there are a variety of legal issues you need to know about. In this article we'll address a specific area of architecture: Buildings and Landmarks.
Not many people know this, but lots of new buildings are copyrighted or trademarked these days. Technically the buildings themselves may not be, but the designs of those buildings are. And if you try to sell stock photography which includes those buildings, you can be sued by the copyright or trademark holder.
The same applies to businesses who try to use those photos for their own advertising and marketing materials. Regardless of where you got the photo - or how much you paid for it - if the original stock photographer did not get a property release, then you are using the photos illegally, and this will usually get you wrapped up in a lawsuit with large amounts of money involved.
Trademarked building designs aren't the only things to worry about though. In almost any city or town across the world, you'll find a variety of statues, monuments, and other public artwork displays... and these are usually covered by copyright protection too. In some cases, statues and monuments are considered public domain because they're a government commissioned display. In other cases however, regardless of who commissioned the work, the original artist holds the copyrights.
Thankfully stock photo agencies do a great job of not allowing photos to be placed in their database if they may violate a copyright or trademark agreement. No one is perfect however, so some things slip in and get put up for licensing even when they shouldn't be. There are many websites around which have comprehensive lists of trademarked buildings and landmarks, and some of them also list those which might be problematic but no one is certain about.
Here's a few examples of common or popular architecture which could be covered by copyright and trademark laws:
- The Eiffel Tower: Only the nighttime light display is copyrighted. Daytime photos of The Eiffel Tower are still allowed to be sold and used for commercial photography purposes.
- The Sears Tower: Photos which feature this building cannot be sold for commercial purposes. In some cases a cityscape which happens to include the tower as a small part of the photo might be acceptable.
- Various Zoos, Theme Parks, and Aquariums: Entry tickets to many of these attraction explicitly state that no commercial photography is allowed."
The following trademarks used herein are the property of Stanley Steemer International, Inc.: Stanley Steemer (and design), Stanley Steemer Carpet Cleaner (and design), Stanley Steemer Logo, Stanley Steemer Van Logo, 1-800-STEEMER (and design), Stanley Steemer Preferred Customer Collection (and design), Stanley Steemer Spot Remover, Stanley Steemer Odor Out, Stanley Steemer Odor Out Plus, Stanley Steemer Neutral Tile & Grout Cleaner, Stanley Steemer Pet Mess Solution Kit, The Power of the Van In Your Hand, Living Brings It In. We Take It Out., A Clean You Can Trust., Tough on Dirt. Gentle On Carpet., Expert Care for Your Air., stanleysteemer.com, and the color Stanley Steemer Yellow. All other trademarks are the property of the respective trademark owners.
