Using branded items in features...

There is no standard when it comes to brands in movies. The
best advice I can give is to do your research and clear each
use - or just don't show any brands. Never assume it's legal
to use a copyright or trademark.

Product placement is a way for wide release films and TV series
to not only use brands but often get some money. If your film
will be seen by a huge audience then advertisers are willing to
pay for product placement. Of course they want a lot of people
to see their product. It's quite rare to get a major company to
pay an independent filmmaker with no distributor to include
their product in their movie.

Can't hurt to ask.

My limited understanding is it's ok to have them..but best not to let the shot dwell on product names or logos. Best not to mention the brand name or have a character wear a shirt w/ a brand name or logo. Bottom line is can a high-powered lawyer prove you hurt their brand in any way is the question ? Tarantino came up w/ many of his own brand names in movies.. I made up a few myself. I came up w/ funny-named beers and tequilas for a feature I did.










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There are certain guidelines like, if a person has to drive a car, there is really no generic car, so it has to be a Ford, or Chevy, etc. so you don't have to hide that, just don't show the logos in a close-up. Wearing a Ford T-shirt is different, as the actor could wear a plain T. Just guidelines though, EVERY situation is different.

Was going to send you a link to a past thread but thought I'd just copy and paste instead.

This is by Michael Donaldson who's an entertainment attorney.

The important part of a trademark is what the mark represents. A trademark represents the source - it identifies who made the goods you are buying or who provided the services you are enjoying. So the big question remains, "Can I use someone else's trademark in my film?"

The good news is that as a filmmaker, your right to include a trademark in your film is clear. You have a right to include the trademark in your film as long as the trademark or the product bearing the trademark is used as it was intended to be used without any consequences of its use being abnormal or out of the ordinary. Therefore, as long as a filmmaker is using a trademark or logo as it was intended to be used, and do not disparage or tarnish the trademark or logo in your film, you may include such trademark or logo without asking permission to do so. Simple, right?


Like any other rule, there is always one caveat. You as a filmmaker do not have the right to commit trade libel, not even in the name of entertainment. Trade libel occurs when a product or service is falsely accused of some bad attribute. For example, if you showed someone in your film eating a McDonald's hamburger, then that person immediately keeled over because the food was poisonous, that would libel the trademark.

Another major question that arises sounds something like this, "So if I can use a trademark in my film in a non-libelous manner, why would I want to pay a license fee to clear it?" While the law does not require the filmmaker to obtain permission to use these items in film or television shows, there may be some good business reasons to do so anyway. For instance, broadcast television is an advertiser- supported medium. Therefore, if you used Coca-Cola labels on every beverage, and these beverages are prominently visible on the television screen, you have essentially given Coca-Cola free airtime.


I do not think the network broadcasting your show would be too thrilled giving away free airtime. Additionally as a filmmaker, you may potentially create more than one film. By showing goodwill and possibly paying or asking permission to use a trademark in your current film, the trademark holder may be willing to support, or even finance a portion of your project (assuming of course the trademark holder liked the use of their product or trademark in the film). So while permission to use a logo or trademark may not always be necessary, it might make good business sense to get permission anyway.

Michael C. Donaldson is an entertainment attorney who has been fighting for independent filmmakers for over thirty years. His book Clearance and Copyright, the third edition of which was just released, is used in over 50 film schools and has become the standard reference book for the industry. Visit: [http://www.clearanceandcopyright.com]

Hope this helps.

There was an episode of "Detroit 1-8-7" this season that had a shoot-out in a convenience store. If you looked carefully, you could see all the snack foods were hanging on the racks backwards, so no brand names could be seen.

Major network show, not showing any brand names.

Thanks for the pointers gang, much appreciated!

directorik said:

Never assume it's legal
to use a copyright or trademark.

Click to expand...

This is very good advice. As a film financier and film producer, I always took this road. I once had a distributor tell me he could not distribute a film we made because of several scenes in which the actors were using bad language and there was a Pepsi product displayed prominently in the scene.

Claudia

I've seen that happen often. Not the bag language part, but
the brand name. It may be completely legal according to the
article Michael posts, but distributors of low budget films usually
do not want to take the chance. Even if Pepsi challenged them
and lost it would cost a lot of money. It sure doesn't hurt to play
it safe.