 Digital Strips : Show 63 [9.33 MB] |
We continue to cover webcomic exploration with this episode. We discuss the not so recent but high quality animations produced for CAD by the crew at Blind Ferret. In this episode we talk about:
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Ever hear of \”Fair Use\”? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use
The X-Bot probably would not be considered Fair Use because he\’s a regular character, but just about everything else would.
Yes, I have heard of Fair Use, and if they took the same material they use in the comic and put it onto TV it would not constitute fair use. You can\’t use copyrighted material like titles of games or game systems or named characters all throughout a TV show without paying royalties to the copyright holders. If they came up with their own names for games that are close to, but not the same as, the original it could be considered parody.
The XBot would probably be OK since it isn\’t \”XBOX Bot\” and it is clearly parody, but I\’ll guarantee the MS lawyers would still try to stop it if it ever appeared on TV and they hadn\’t received a check for using it.
\”You can\’t use copyrighted material like titles of games or game systems or named characters all throughout a TV show without paying royalties to the copyright holders.\”
Virtually every show on G4 does exactly that. This is Fair Use. And when it\’s not Fair Use, it\’s PRODUCT PLACEMENT, and the owners of the copyrights pay THEM.
There\’s a difference between mentioning HALO on a TV show (and even showing the box art, etc.) and doing a TV show called HALO: THE TV SHOW. Lawyers definitely get involved in the latter occurance, but not the former. The former is what\’s known as Fair Use.
You are correct
G4 reports on news and events that surround video games and the industry. This is defined as commentary and certainly falls under the definition of Fair Use. However, simply using copyrighted imagery for a backdrop or using copyrighted characters, names, logos etc. as part of your overall story does not.
Also keep in mind that G4 uses screen shots, press material, and video footage from games that are officially released by the studios that own the copyrights for those games. They don\’t just pluck whatever they want out of the games and broadcast them on TV. They do need, and get, permission for a great deal of what they show on the network.
Have you ever seen reality TV shows where one person\’s T shirt or hat is blocked out? This happens on MTV all the time. It\’s because logos or copyrighted characters are on the shirt. There\’s an article in a recent issue of Time magazine (I think it was Time) in which TV producers are sort of freaking out over hi def TV\’s. The producers of the Sopranos where talking about how difficult it\’s been to keep brands and logos out of the sets and now with HD TV it\’ll be even harder since things in the background stick out.
You just can\’t plaster copyrighted material all over TV without permission, it\’s that simple.