Quick Copyright Question

L

lucas182

Hi everyone, I intend to shoot a short with the new iPhone 7 plus and was wondering:

- The main character would be wearing a NFL jersey throughout most of the film. Is this OK? Do you think I'd need written permission from the NFL? If so, would covering/not showing the team's logos, solve this issue, or would the likeness still cause me trouble?

- There's a small scene in which there's a NFL game playing on TV (though the game footage won't be shown), I'll only use audio from that team's radio broadcast and the stereotypical flickering on the character's face to indicate something on TV. I'm assuming I would need permission from said broadcast team?

This is obviously an Indie film with no intention on monetizing. I do, however, intend on registering for a number of film festivals.

And yes, I know I could just create some fictional football team, but that also means the viewer connects less with the character.

Thanks in advance guys :)
 
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The NFL is extremely protective of its logos and game footage...probably more protective than most. On television, you cannot even say "super bowl" on the air without paying a royalty. (you have to say "playoffs"). If you use any NFL football footage, you are opening the door to LOTS of potential problems. Write your script accordingly. How about college footage rather than NFL...just a thought.
 
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Rayandmigdalia said:
The NFL is extremely protective of its logos and game footage...probably more protective than most. On television, you cannot even say "super bowl" on the air without paying a royalty. (you have to say "playoffs"). If you use any NFL football footage, you are opening the door to LOTS of potential problems. Write your script accordingly. How about college footage rather than NFL...just a thought.
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I understand. What about having the character wear a jersey?
 
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You can legally show any brand name in any film. What you have to worry about is litigation. Mainly, you don't want to misrepresent how that logo or brand name is used.

As an example, in my debut feature, I was worried about having so many brand-names and logos in a scene that took place in a convenience store. I tried blurring them out, but it wasn't working. Eventually, I learned that I didn't need to worry about it, because all of these brand-names and logos were exactly where they should be -- on the shelves of a convenience store.

In that scene, our heroes purchased some beer and proceeded to drink it in the next scene. The logos were seen. For that (to keep my butt safe), I needed permission from the company to use their logo, because it was now being seen in a new context, one which I was shaping a story around. If the company didn't like the way that their product was used in my scene, and if they felt that I had misrepresented their product, they could sue my pants off.

I feel like your usage of the NFL logos would probably be more similar to my latter example, and I highly doubt they'll give you permission. As for the audio, you definitely can't use that.

I'd recommend two things:

For the jerseys, you can just get one that looks exactly like the jersey that you want (coloring, lettering) without using any NFL logos. These can be found easily and inexpensively online at uniform manufacturing companies. Youth football leagues are famous for using uniforms that look just like those of their NFL counterparts. I'm pretty sure I've seen this done on television commercials before.

For the audio, I think you should just record it yourself. Get a couple people who sound like they could be on TV and have them do the commentary for a fake game. Use nicknames of nicknames -- like, instead of "Seahawks", use "Hawks". And then worldize the audio.

Best of luck, and go Seahawks! :D
 
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Cracker Funk said:
That was all of my legal advice. Now, for my real-world advice:

Just fucking do it. Use both.

Ain't nobody from the NFL paying attention to your short film.

Guerrilla! :D
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Hahaha thanks

After reading through the many articles online regarding what happened with the Will Smith movie Concussion and the Ballers series, it seems I'd be fine as long as I use these logos/footage how they'd be used in a real situation. Which is definitely the case in my short.

I have a single father wearing a Patriots jersey and boxer shorts, putting his toddler to sleep, then watching a NFL game in the living room. After the game, he goes to his bedroom, takes off the jersey, and goes to sleep. Nothing unusual here at all. Obviously things happen, or this wouldn't be a film. But as far as the NFL and its logos go, that's it.
 
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As far as the broadcast goes, I would definitely recreate it. Using their audio is definitely copyright, that's a recording so a little different here. You can recreate it and change/use your own wording. Easy stuff.
 
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