
“This is not the place to seek forgiveness-it is much better in this instance to ask permission," Carson adds. Secondly, Carson says, “You can use protected material as inspiration for your own clearly different creation (called transformative use-it must be clearly different and cannot appear to be a copy or representation)."Ĭarson still recommends consulting an attorney if you're uncertain since infringement can be expensive. For instance, the copyright on Mickey Mouse expires in 2024.

First, expired copyrights can generally be used after expiration. There are two areas where characters could potentially be used without a license. “Disney works a lot with licensing and may be easier to work with than perhaps people are thinking," says Carson. Small businesses or individuals cannot put Nemo on a shirt or cake and sell it without a license.
#IS GAME OF THRONES FONT COPYRIGHTED MOVIE#
Use of a brief clip (15 seconds) from a Disney movie as a part of movie critique would likely be considered fair use, but a longer viewing (30 minutes or more) would likely be considered infringement.
#IS GAME OF THRONES FONT COPYRIGHTED LICENSE#
Obtaining a license from these entities doesn't seem like a time- or cost-efficient approach for most small businesses.

Those businesses who want to pursue this route can look at the FAQ on licensing on Disney's website. Entities like Disney, Marvel, and Pixar are picky about who is allowed to obtain licenses, and pricing isn't readily available. Most small businesses would likely have to seek licensing rights to use Disney, Marvel, or Pixar characters. Based on the above, most small businesses making use of Disney characters and the like without first securing proper licenses are committing infringement and likely will not be able to rely on a fair use defense," Goldman says. “Finally, the amount of material being used and whether it's fact or fiction are also considered, with less leeway being granted for the latter.

In addition, it is crucial to examine whether such use would affect the value of the copyrighted work in the marketplace. commercial purposes and whether the use is considered transformative." “Under the Copyright Act and subsequent case law, 'fair use' is narrowly defined to include educational vs. Attorney William Goldman, managing attorney of The Goldman Group, explains what is allowed under the law through the fair use doctrine. Here, we'll break the concept of fair use and the exceptions to infringement.Ĭan a small business rely on “fair use" for advertising and marketing materials? But for most small business owners, a license is prohibitive. Many companies would like to use popular characters from Disney, Marvel, or Pixar movies, shows, and comics in their merchandising and advertising campaigns to capitalize on the widespread appeal of iconic figures such as Mickey Mouse, Captain America, and Mr.
