Legal issue
wideweb
4 Apr 2009 18:04
Supposing I film Microsoft Word while I am writing a love letter. I post this clip on the fabulous P5. Do I need to tag this clip as "Editorial" because of the Microsoft interface (assuming the word Microsoft is not shown), or not?
ODesigns
4 Apr 2009 18:09
I believe interfaces are subject to copyright law, since really, they are "owned" by the company that created it.
If I shoot a laptop, I try to show very little of the screen, or blur it out. Or even, shoot with a green screen laptop (I used a dead one and painted the screen), and make-up my own interface in After Effects.
Like this one...
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/352337
...was shot like this:
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/352308
Or this one had a totally-made-up interface placed in After Effects:
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/302764
This one has the real screen in the shot, but very little is noticeable:
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/332741
Good luck!
If I shoot a laptop, I try to show very little of the screen, or blur it out. Or even, shoot with a green screen laptop (I used a dead one and painted the screen), and make-up my own interface in After Effects.
Like this one...
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/352337
...was shot like this:
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/352308
Or this one had a totally-made-up interface placed in After Effects:
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/302764
This one has the real screen in the shot, but very little is noticeable:
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/332741
Good luck!
ironstrike
4 Apr 2009 18:13
Don't Submit it !!!
Microsoft is evil !
In movies they always have a fake interface, they never windows or apple OS. Its like screencapturing a video game and reselling it as machinima, you cant do that either.
Microsoft is evil !
In movies they always have a fake interface, they never windows or apple OS. Its like screencapturing a video game and reselling it as machinima, you cant do that either.
ODesigns
4 Apr 2009 18:18
That said, I sometimes see "real" interfaces in the media. Like those horrible "Finally Fast" dot com spots: they all show Windows screen shots in their commercials.
Funny, too, is that they superimposed those Windows shots on Apple computers (laptops and desktops).
On a related note, don't forget to mask out all the names and logos on your laptops and computers when you shoot. including those on the BACK of the LCD screen!
But here's a puzzler: this clip is often in the "best this week/month" area here on Pond5, but yet, it clearly has a large APPLE logo right in the shot, as big as day.
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/79292
Shouldn't that clip have been rejected, or at the very least, tagged as "Editorial"?
Funny, too, is that they superimposed those Windows shots on Apple computers (laptops and desktops).
On a related note, don't forget to mask out all the names and logos on your laptops and computers when you shoot. including those on the BACK of the LCD screen!
But here's a puzzler: this clip is often in the "best this week/month" area here on Pond5, but yet, it clearly has a large APPLE logo right in the shot, as big as day.
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/79292
Shouldn't that clip have been rejected, or at the very least, tagged as "Editorial"?
wideweb
4 Apr 2009 18:23
I don't believe interfaces are owned by the company who created them. For example, MS took the excel interface from Lotus, the Windows interface from Mac, and got away with it. What is copywrited is the code behind the interface. In addition, don't forget, I paid for this interface! Yet my question stands: will P5 reject my clip if I did not tag it "Editorial"?
ODesigns
4 Apr 2009 18:28
I'm no lawyer, but I bet if Microsoft or Apple wanted to be troublesome, they could make a case that their interfaces are subject to some sort of copyright law.
After all, they created the graphics, layout, design, etc.
And like ironstrike said, you almost NEVER see a true Windows or OSX interface in any major commercial project. Their interfaces tend to be custom and generic.
So, I'd say, don't risk it. It'll probably get rejected anyhow. (But, you might get lucky and get a reviewer on an "off" day and have your clip(s) approved, sort of like that above Apple laptop example.)
And, you didn't "pay" for the interface. What you "paid" for was a license for the right to be able to use the interface! Windows and OSX are still owned by Microsoft and Apple.
After all, they created the graphics, layout, design, etc.
And like ironstrike said, you almost NEVER see a true Windows or OSX interface in any major commercial project. Their interfaces tend to be custom and generic.
So, I'd say, don't risk it. It'll probably get rejected anyhow. (But, you might get lucky and get a reviewer on an "off" day and have your clip(s) approved, sort of like that above Apple laptop example.)
And, you didn't "pay" for the interface. What you "paid" for was a license for the right to be able to use the interface! Windows and OSX are still owned by Microsoft and Apple.
ironstrike
4 Apr 2009 18:33
the specific arrangement of the gui is copyrighted.
You can believe whatever you want
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_v._Microsoft
You can believe whatever you want
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_v._Microsoft
ODesigns
4 Apr 2009 18:36
Think of it this way:
When you buy a movie on a DVD, do you "own" the movie?
No. What you "own" is a license for the right to play the movie in your home on your DVD player.
So, you may have paid for Office, but you don't own it. As a result, you shouldn't use it in any shot you sell.
When you buy a movie on a DVD, do you "own" the movie?
No. What you "own" is a license for the right to play the movie in your home on your DVD player.
So, you may have paid for Office, but you don't own it. As a result, you shouldn't use it in any shot you sell.
ironstrike
4 Apr 2009 18:45
BTW with that logo above on the computer, I think that is an exception because it qualifies as http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/filmnetwork/legalguidelegalfaqs.... yeah that link is british but I think for the most part the rules are the same in the US
you have to scroll down to see the incidental part.
you have to scroll down to see the incidental part.
dnavarrojr
4 Apr 2009 19:43
FWIW, having been in the software business for 20+ years, user-interfaces can be trademarked. And in fact, both Apple and Microsoft do trademark the "look & feel" of their products.
In practice, neither company bothers with legal proceedings when it comes to screen captures, UNLESS the purpose of the capture is to defame their product or company. And in fact, Microsoft encourages others to create artwork and video of their user-interfaces because it promotes their products and image.
In practice, neither company bothers with legal proceedings when it comes to screen captures, UNLESS the purpose of the capture is to defame their product or company. And in fact, Microsoft encourages others to create artwork and video of their user-interfaces because it promotes their products and image.