Are images of professional sports players copyrighted?

[jake_n]

Hi, I sell phone cases on my website and was interested in adding some cases with NBA and NFL players on them. Would this be in violation of a copyright? Some of them don't have the names of the players or any team name on them.
Are these safe to sell? Should I steer clear?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Zigner]

Hi, I sell phone cases on my website and was interested in adding some cases with NBA and NFL players on them. Would this be in violation of a copyright? Some of them don't have the names of the players or any team name on them.
Are these safe to sell? Should I steer clear?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

It's not your picture - you need permission to use it.

Also, this site is for US law matters only.

 

[quincy]

You would be violating copyright laws, trademark laws and publicity rights laws if you implemented your plans without proper permissions and licensing.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Hi, I sell phone cases on my website and was interested in adding some cases with NBA and NFL players on them. Would this be in violation of a copyright? Some of them don't have the names of the players or any team name on them.
Are these safe to sell? Should I steer clear?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

If you are creating these cases yourself you are asking for a lot a trouble here if you do not get the necessary consents to cover all the different intellectual property rights involved. The photographs or other images (paintings, drawings, whatever) you use that are created by others would be protected by copyright, and use of those with the permission of the copyright holder would subject you to liability for copyright infringement. The team logos are separately protected by copyright and also protected by trademark law, too. The names of the teams are protected by trademark, too. Thus, use of the team logos can result in a separate copyright infringement claim and the use of the team logos and names may trigger a trademark infringement claim. Then there is the issue that the players themselves have rights of publicity that you may infringe by using their likeness to sell your stuff. If you are buying these cases from a case manufacturer, you will want to get assurance from that manufacturer that it has obtained the necessary consents.

 

[Zigner]

If you are buying these cases from a case manufacturer, you will want to get assurance from that manufacturer that it has obtained the necessary consents.

I suspect that, if bought in bulk, the OP would be dealing with an offshore (ie: chinese) manufacturer. Any "assurances" the OP may receive would be worth the electrons/photons that are used to transmit them.

 

[quincy]

I suspect that, if bought in bulk, the OP would be dealing with an offshore (ie: chinese) manufacturer. Any "assurances" the OP may receive would be worth the electrons/photons that are used to transmit them.

Agreed. Phone cases made in China are a common import. Those that are found to infringe on IP rights can be seized at Customs.

Jake_n, are you in the US? If so, what is the name of your state?

The laws on copyrights, trademark rights and publicity/privacy (personality) rights can be vastly different depending on your country - as can the penalties for violating these laws. Publicity rights vary not only by country but also by state in the US.

I gave you the three areas of major legal concern with your proposed plan (Taxing expanded on these a bit) but there can be other laws to consider if you are not in the US.