Subject:
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Re: Use of LEGO on album cover... legal or no?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Mon, 12 Mar 2001 16:31:21 GMT
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Viewed:
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500 times
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Ok, Rev. here's what I've got to say..First of all I like the stuff you have
posted on brickshelf. Secondly the image (wall of heads) could have been
generated from scratch for all anybody knows. You did the right thing by
corresponding with Lego about this issue. I know they almost certainly would
not be lending to your needs, that's too bad because you deserve to use the
image of your choice. Also years ago when I made bussiness cards, the cards
said: "Lego Artist Eric Sophie" , I felt I am an artist and Lego is my
meduim, right? well, The Lego company felt differntly, they said the term
"Lego Artist" made it seem like I worked for the company. Alas, I was
crushed, but because I love Lego , I respected the word of Peter Arakis, the
Lawyer I delt with back then. Some people said "to hell with them, it's not
like your making a whole lot of money so that they may come after you" but
Hey , I do what's right and used the cards unoffically. Good luck with the
band , I'll take some time to check out the web page for your band. Right on
for choosing a Lego design for the album cover. I still think that you
should do what you want.
In lugnet.general, Brendan Powell Smith writes:
> Hi, everybody.
>
> Just wanted to fill you guys in on what has happened since I first posted.
>
> A fellow LUGNETer sent me the e-mail address of someone at LEGO who deals
> with these sorts of things, and with whom he had dealt successfully in the
> past. I wrote up an e-mail politely explaining my situation, (wanting to
> use a MOC on my band's album cover, see above) and asking if there was any
> way we could get official permission to do so. I mentioned that no albums
> had been sold with the proposed cover yet, and that we'd be happy to include
> any sort of legal disclaimer in the liner notes which clearly stated that
> this was NOT a LEGO product, etc. Finally I also included a link to MOC in
> question.
>
> The very next day I received a response that was friendly enough, the only
> problem was that I'd given the wrong URL for the MOC photos. Oops! The
> letter also stated:
>
> "I would be happy to consider your request and provide you with disclaimer
> language if the use is approved, once I have confirmed which image you would
> like to use."
>
> Sounded good, so I sent off the corrected URL, which if you are interested,
> is: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=3502
>
> And two days later I got the response:
>
> -----------------------
>
> "I have taken a look at the image of the model that you want to use and I am
> sorry to say that we cannot grant permission for you to use it as your album
> cover.
>
> While it is a very creative model, we believe that such a use of our
> trademarked and copyrighted minifigures creates too great a risk of consumer
> confusion by fostering the misleading impression that The LEGO Group either
> created the products you are offering for sale or that your products are in
> some way related or endorsed by the LEGO Group. When I say 'too great a
> risk,' I mean that the risk could not be overcome by a simple disclaimer on
> the product. In case you are not aware of this, risk of confusion is one of
> the elements that a court examines in determining trademark infringement.
>
> In addition, as we are currently in development of music in relation to many
> of our products, including the new BIONICLE(tm) line, your use would pose an
> even greater risk of confusion.
>
> We believe that such use, while it might not be your intent, would also
> improperly trade upon the goodwill that the LEGO Group has built up in its
> products and services.
>
> Therefore, we ask that you do not use the proposed model as the cover of
> your album. I hope that as the LEGO(R) enthusiast you appear to be, you can
> understand and respect our position, and will take the appropriate steps to
> ensure that any improper use of our trademarked and copyrighted minifigures
> does not occur. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact
> me. We appreciate your interest in our products and our company. Play
> well!"
>
> -----------------------
>
> Needless to say I am very disappointed.
>
> The crux of their argument is that our album cover runs too great a risk of
> creating consumer confusion. That is a bit hard for me to believe.
> Wouldn't any official LEGO product prominently display the world-famous
> bright red LEGO logo in several places? Our proposed album art did not use
> that or any other LEGO logo, nor even the word LEGO at all.
>
> According to their view, it's hard to imagine any album cover which features
> LEGO in any prominence getting official permission, and that is kind of sad.
>
> I am interested in hearing what other LUGNETers think about this case. Does
> this denial of permission seem reasonable? Do you think the law is on their
> side here?
>
> My band, The Human Heads, has begun work designing a new and different album
> art concept which does not use LEGO at all. At this point we really have no
> other choice. Even if we felt that the law was clearly on our side, we do
> not have sufficient time or money to spend on court costs defending ourselves.
>
> In the end, I feel quite sure that in the future LEGO will rue the day that
> disaccociated themselves and their products from us. We firmly believe that
> The Human Heads will be the most widely recognized band name in the world by
> 2005. @8-D
>
> And isn't it rather disturbing that LEGO is developing music products to go
> along with Bionicle, especially after that "We will refocus on our core
> business" press release last week?
>
> Well, that's the latest. Let me know what you think. And "Play well!"(TM)*
>
> -The Rev. Brendan Powell Smith
> http://www.thehumanheads.com
>
> *Use of the patented, tradmarked, copyrighted, and otherwide legally
> protected phrase Play well!(TM) in this post is highly illegal and as such I
> will be hiding out in Mexico for a week to avoid incarceration by the Space
> Police(TM).
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Use of LEGO on album cover... legal or no?
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| Hi, everybody. Just wanted to fill you guys in on what has happened since I first posted. A fellow LUGNETer sent me the e-mail address of someone at LEGO who deals with these sorts of things, and with whom he had dealt successfully in the past. I (...) (23 years ago, 12-Mar-01, to lugnet.general)
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