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Am I breaking any laws here?

by yves
5 replies
Hi,

Some people will probably think I am being over cautious here but I was just wondering about this thing.

Is there any risk with putting brand names on a website - say for adsense or CPA and talking about the product with pictures of the products etc?

The reason I am asking is because, I was just plodding along getting on with my work when a friend asked me if its ok to have names of big (or small) companies' products and review or talk about them without their consent.
This is in the context of not affiliating with them, just talking about and recommending their products. At first I thought, of course its ok, that's free advertising for them but then maybe they have a fixed method of advertising and don't want just anyone advertising for them.

Sorry for this (obviously overthought) question but I would really like to find out the general consensus on the matter.

So its - Is it ok for us to discuss other companies' products on our websites without affiliation or their consent and use pictures too? (I'm not that bothered with the pictures more the first thing though).

P.S and do we have to use TM after the brand product?

Thanks for listening

Yves

I really shouldn't be working on a Saturaday evening
#breaking #laws
  • Profile picture of the author InternetMarketingIQ
    What happens is if people find you that are associated with that company they will have their laywers send you a cease and desist. Then you pull it. Companies love free publicity. You are not really dealing with legal until you start to cause potential profit loss to the companies. I've received a couple from anal companies that don't want the free publicity.

    It's not a big deal. No one wants to go to court. The only problems arise when you are stubborn and intentionally ignore them.

    You are essentially dealing with copyright issues. I would never be so bold as to use a TM or signature mark in a URL but I post pictures of products all the time.

    It's not illegal to tell the truth. You can say I just had a bowl of Cheerios and yes in fact they did taste like cardboard. That's just your opinion about a product. However if you make a Website CheeriosSuck then you might attract the kind of attention that could get you in trouble.

    The law is a tricky beast and nobody wins in court except the attorneys.
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    • Profile picture of the author yves
      Originally Posted by InternetMarketingIQ View Post

      What happens is if people find you that are associated with that company they will have their laywers send you a cease and desist. Then you pull it. Companies love free publicity. You are not really dealing with legal until you start to cause potential profit loss to the companies. I've received a couple from anal companies that don't want the free publicity.

      It's not a big deal. No one wants to go to court. The only problems arise when you are stubborn and intentionally ignore them.

      You are essentially dealing with copyright issues. I would never be so bold as to use a TM or signature mark in a URL but I post pictures of products all the time.

      It's not illegal to tell the truth. You can say I just had a bowl of Cheerios and yes in fact they did taste like cardboard. That's just your opinion about a product. However if you make a Website CheeriosSuck then you might attract the kind of attention that could get you in trouble.

      The law is a tricky beast and nobody wins in court except the attorneys.
      Thanks, thant's kinda what I expected.

      The thing is it's just for informational sites and I'm not actually even saying the product is good or bad exactly, more just describing features and benefits sort of thing.

      Thankyou for the info,

      Yves.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Yves, as I understand from my layman's study, it's not explicitly against the law to use a company's name in a domain name. However, should the company own the trademark on their name and work to protect it, you can get the C&D the previous poster mentioned.

    Outside of that, you are free to offer your opinions and insights about a product by name. If the name has a legal trademark, you acknowledge that status by using the TM symbol. This indicates that you are not claiming any rights to the trademark.

    Using pictures is a matter of copyright. Either the photographer or the person holding the rights to the photo (often both) own the copyright. You will need permission to use those photos. Now, if you take the photos yourself, you're in good shape - you own those copyrights.

    There is some gray area, such as when your legal photo displays a trademarked logo or a service mark of some kind, but I doubt you'd have any problems simply displaying a picture of a product and talking about it.

    Disclaimer: I'm NOT a lawyer and therefore none of this is legal advice. If you are worried, contact an intellectual property attorney or other qualified professional.
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    • Profile picture of the author yves
      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      Yves, as I understand from my layman's study, it's not explicitly against the law to use a company's name in a domain name. However, should the company own the trademark on their name and work to protect it, you can get the C&D the previous poster mentioned.

      Outside of that, you are free to offer your opinions and insights about a product by name. If the name has a legal trademark, you acknowledge that status by using the TM symbol. This indicates that you are not claiming any rights to the trademark.

      Using pictures is a matter of copyright. Either the photographer or the person holding the rights to the photo (often both) own the copyright. You will need permission to use those photos. Now, if you take the photos yourself, you're in good shape - you own those copyrights.

      There is some gray area, such as when your legal photo displays a trademarked logo or a service mark of some kind, but I doubt you'd have any problems simply displaying a picture of a product and talking about it.

      Disclaimer: I'm NOT a lawyer and therefore none of this is legal advice. If you are worried, contact an intellectual property attorney or other qualified professional.
      Thanks John,

      Yeah, I already decided I wasn't going to go for brand names in the domain so at least I don't have to worry about that.

      And thanks for clearing up the TM thing. I have been using it in my site's content, where appropriate along with the brand name to keep everything ok.

      I also can't see why there would be anything wrong with talking about a product, especially when it not in a slanderous or negative way, just informational.

      I'll have to think about what I'm going to do for the pictures

      Cheers.

      Yves
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by yves View Post

        I also can't see why there would be anything wrong with talking about a product, especially when it not in a slanderous or negative way, just informational.

        I'll have to think about what I'm going to do for the pictures

        Cheers.

        Yves
        There's nothing wrong with talking about negative aspects or experiences with a product, so long as they are true or clearly opinion.

        As for the pictures, try the manufacturer's website. Many times they have photos available for the press. As a website publisher, you qualify as "press"...
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