Balloon Professionals Magazine Has Good Legal Advice for Anyone Who Has Ever Uploaded a Video
We’ve All Been There: You are selling custom mylar balloons from your original Blonik the Hedgehog character when Disney knocks on your door and stops moving. What are your rights?
In the first issue of Balloon Professionals Magazine , intellectual property lawyer Tim Casey provides helpful advice on copyright infringement and fair use issues that goes beyond bloat. If you’ve ever uploaded a video of a pop song in the background, or had an idea for a fun Hogwarts t-shirt, you could take a lesson from this.
Some highlights:
- While some violations are more obvious than others, there is no “bright line rule” how to tell them apart.
- But the law takes into account four main factors: the purpose and nature of the infringing work, the nature of the original, the amount used, and the effect on the market value of the original. We recently looked at these fair use factors in more detail.
- Parody is often a good defense, but again, it’s tricky.
- Even if the client agrees to take legal responsibility in the contract, if you receive a claim, you may have to actually sue them to the end.
One interesting detail in the industry: Balloon professionals have been telling each other for years that a copied character will not infringe copyright if it has “at least five significant differences (e.g. color variations, number of decals, small details, etc.) . D.) “.
In the absence of good legal advice, people tend to invent their own superstitions about copyright. YouTubers, as blogger Andy Bajo points out, are putting “no copyright” on their remixes, or even outright stolen clips, as if it makes any difference when the copyright holder shows up. But this is not the case.
If you’re worried about copyright infringement, or simply want to avoid being notified that your fun Star Wars remix has been removed, seek advice from professional legal sources such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or better yet, consult a lawyer.
Thanks to Jennifer Romig , Twitter user and balloon rights enthusiast.