Re: Re: Using Logos in Wikipedia Articles without pemission

If this case ever gets litigated, I hope a judge reflects on what the world would be like if The New York Times, or the local TV news, or even a high school newspaper, could not use the logo of Chevrolet or Coca-Cola in a commentary on the company.

Or, to put it another way, does the Wall Street Journal get to use the logo in reporting on financial results, but others cannot use a company logo in reporting other aspects of the company's behavior?

/rich

On 9/29/06, John Levine <johnl[_at_]iecc.com> wrote:
>
> >I'm in a -- discussion -- on Wikipedia about the use of the logo of the
> >Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod without their permission. ...
>
> >I'm arguing that it certainly is not fair use and the wishes of the
> >copyright holder ought to be respected.
>
> As we all know, there is no bright line about what fair use is, but in
> looking at the four factors listed in the copyright law, I note that
> "what the copyright holder says" is conspicuously absent.
>
> So let's look at what the law does say:
>
> Sec 107 lists teaching, scholarship, or research, as examples of
> fair use. Those all apply here.
>
> In the four factors:
>
> 1) purpose and character of use: Wikipedia is definitely nonprofit
> educational, not commercial
>
> 2) nature of copyrighted work: hard to say how it would affect the
> analysis in this case
>
> 3) amount used: if it's just a logo, one can't use less than the whole
> thing
>
> 4) effect on market or value: none that I can see. It's not like it's
> a "Lutherans are Losers" web site.
>
> So I would have to say that unless there is some contrary case law
> I'm unaware of, this would be a slam dunk fair user defense.
>
> The usual way one protects a logo is as a trademark, but since
> churches aren't generally considered commerce, I guess that wouldn't
> apply either.
>
> R's,
> John
>
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-- 
Rich Wiggins
rich[_at_]richardwiggins.com