RE: (no subject)

>>> RCumbow[_at_]GrahamDunn.com 09/27/01 05:18PM >>> wrote in part:
>>>>>
One of the rights of the copyright owner is the right to publicly display the work. Thus you could buy the standup for a home decoration, but you wouldn't necessarily be within your rights standing it up in public. If the library is a public facility, the display of the standup might, at least technically, be a copyright infringement, even if, practically, it is low risk. It looks as if you are associated with a private school, however. If so, then the proposed use is unlikely to offend copyright law. <<<<<

Two disagreements with Bob Cumbow's otherwise excellent post. First, given the definition of "publicly" in the Copyright Act ("at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered"), I think there is no meaningful difference between a display at the library of a private school and a public library; both are "public" displays. Second, and more importantly, Bob inadvertently overlooked the first-sale doctrine, Section 109(c), which specifically states that the owner of a particular copy is lawfully entitled to display it to viewers present at the place where the copy is located. So, if the standup photograph was "lawfully made under this title," displaying it at any library, public or private, would not be an infringement of copyright. [The result is that the public display right concerns only display by means of TV or other transmission, including the internet.]

Of course, the right of publicity and trademark issues would still need to be considered, as pointed out in Bob's post.

Tyler T. Ochoa
Associate Professor and Co-Director
Center for Intellectual Property Law
Whittier Law School

>>> RCumbow[_at_]GrahamDunn.com 09/27/01 05:18PM >>> wrote:
First, about the stand-up itself: Assuming it is a photograph if some famous person, there are two potential issues: right of publicity and copyright. Right of publicity is a specifically commercial right, so if you are not using the celebrity's image to advertise, or to promote sales of merchandise, there's probably no big right of publicity risk. Regarding copyright, somebody took the photograph or made the picture that the standup is based on, and that person, or studio, or company, owns the copyright in it. One of the rights of the copyright owner is the right to publicly display the work. Thus you could buy the standup for a home decoration, but you wouldn't necessarily be within your rights standing it up in public. If the library is a public facility, the display of the standup might, at least technically, be a copyright infringement, even if, practically, it is low risk. It looks as if you are associated with a private school, however. If so, then the proposed use is unlikely to offend copyright law.

Regarding the use of phrases associated with the character: Generally speaking, short phrases are not protected by copyright. Thus you wouldn't likely be at risk of infringing anyone's copyright by putting up balloons of dialogue uttered by the character. However, short phrases CAN be trademarks (one example of a short phrase associated with a celebrity that is also a trademark is "Heeeere's Johnny!"). You'd be well advised to make sure that, in posting these phrases, you aren't suggesting an association with, or sponsorship or endorsement by, some other party, including the celebrity him(or her)self.

As a practical matter, the risk seems low, since few celebrities are likely to object to being associated with promoting reading--especially in a single private school library. However, you never know whether certain celebrities, studios, or companies may have exclusive agreements with other worthy causes that may make them more sensitive to uses of the kind you propose.

Robert C. Cumbow
 Graham & Dunn PC
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-----Original Message-----
From: FJCL1[_at_]gateway.net [mailto:FJCL1[_at_]gateway.net] Sent: Monday, September 24, 2001 4:47 PM To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: (no subject)

I am a first time subscriber, so here goes. I am a librarian who is thinking of purchasing a standup cardboard celebrity figure and tacking up balloons next to it promoting reading and other library stuff. My question is, can I use phrases associated with the character or is that a no-no?

Carol Kotsch
Librarian
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Wichita, Ks.
fjcl1[_at_]aol.com Received on Mon Oct 01 2001 - 21:35:46 GMT