Using a movie screenshot in a app is legal?

[David12]

can i use a screenshot from movie as part of my app? its an app related to movies and each movie i put screenshot, is that legal?

 

[adjusterjack]

It's very likely copyright infringement and you can get sued for it.

Get consent from the owner or don't use it.

 

[Taxing Matters]

can i use a screenshot from movie as part of my app? its an app related to movies and each movie i put screenshot, is that legal?

Each individual frame or “still” from a movie is protected by copyright, just like single photographs are protected by copyright. Although I do not know the nature of your app, in general if you use those frames without permission of the copyright holder you will be violating the copyright and subject to suit for infringement.

 

[quincy]

can i use a screenshot from movie as part of my app? its an app related to movies and each movie i put screenshot, is that legal?

What is the name of your state, David, or if not in the US, what is the name of your country? IP laws vary in significant ways from country to country.

For what purpose is your app? How is it related to movies?

You possibly have copyright concerns and trademark concerns with the use of the screenshots for your app but more information would be helpful.

Some uses of copyrighted material and some uses of trademarks are allowable in the US. Specifics matter.

 

[David12]

What is the name of your state, David, or if not in the US, what is the name of your country? IP laws vary in significant ways from country to country.

For what purpose is your app? How is it related to movies?

You possibly have copyright concerns and trademark concerns with the use of the screenshots for your app but more information would be helpful.

Some uses of copyrighted material and some uses of trademarks are allowable in the US. Specifics matter.

Thanks for replying everyone, its a game app, people need to recognize the movie by the screenshot, i think its a fair use but not sure.. what do you think?
If i give a credit on each screenshot? BTW im not from the state but the app will be published there too.

 

[Just Blue]

Thanks for replying everyone, its a game app, people need to recognize the movie by the screenshot, i think its a fair use but not sure.. what do you think?
If i give a credit on each screenshot? BTW im not from the state but the app will be published there too.

What country are you from?

 

[FlyingRon]

Thanks for replying everyone, its a game app, people need to recognize the movie by the screenshot, i think its a fair use but not sure.. what do you think?
If i give a credit on each screenshot? BTW im not from the state but the app will be published there too.

It is not fair use. It's your attempt to exploit their intellectual property. Fair use is for things like review or educational purposes or parody. Further, fair use isn't something that you can just say and it will stave off lawsuits. It is a defense you can bring up in court after you have been sued (and it will cost you money). Believe me, movie studios, especially people like Disney and Warner Brothers are extremely litigious.

If you want to do this, the way to do it is to ask for permission.

 

[quincy]

Thanks for replying everyone, its a game app, people need to recognize the movie by the screenshot, i think its a fair use but not sure.. what do you think?
If i give a credit on each screenshot? BTW im not from the state but the app will be published there too.

In what country do you reside?

From where are you getting the screenshots?

First, attributing the source of a copyrighted work does not excuse infringement, although the fact that there was attribution potentially can make a difference to a court when damages are awarded a copyright holder in an infringement suit.

I have some disagreement with FlyingRon in his definitive statement that your uses of rights-protected material would not be a fair use. I don't think it is that clear. I agree, however, with his bottom line that getting permission from rights-holders is the smart thing to do, to eliminate all risk of an infringement suit arising from your app.

In the US, there are fair use defenses available for both trademark uses and the uses of copyrighted works.

For trademarks, you can use trademarks in a descriptive way, to identify the specific goods or services of which you speak. A Ford Mustang can be called a Ford Mustang. What you cannot do with a trademark is use it in a way that confuses consumers as to the origin of the goods/services being marketed. Your app cannot state or imply any affiliation with the holder of any trademark.

I do not see that your use of trademarks in your app would generate consumer confusion nor do I see you as "trading off" the fame or popularity of the movies. You are using trademarks to identify specific movies. Your use is arguably a fair use.

With the movie stills, your uses appear to be de minimis (trivial). Although your uses of the stills do not fall clearly within the Copyright Act's fair use guidelines (commentary or criticism, research, educational purposes, journalistic purposes), a court in an infringement suit looks at the use of copyrighted works by analyzing four major factors - the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount or substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole, the effect of the use on the market for or value of the copyrighted work.

I see a trivia game app, where copyrighted works and trademarks are used to identify specific works, as a use that could be judged a fair use.

Whether your app attracts the attention of a rights-holder and spawns a cease and desist notice or an infringement suit depends in large part on the litigiousness of the rights-holder. Because it is hard to predict what a rights-holder will find infringing, getting permission in advance of creating and marketing your app is the recommended course of action, even if a defense to your uses might be available.

You might benefit from sitting down with an IP professional in your area for a personal review.

Good luck.

 

[FlyingRon]

I guess Quincy and I are going to disagree over the de minimus aspect here. I do not agree with him. Single frames from movies have quite substantial commerical value to the rights holder and it very well will impact the ability to earn money from their works. WB has quite successfully sued over such use in the Harry Potter field. As I said, I've seen people run afoul of Disney as well.

 

[quincy]

I guess Quincy and I are going to disagree over the de minimus aspect here. I do not agree with him. Single frames from movies have quite substantial commerical value to the rights holder and it very well will impact the ability to earn money from their works. WB has quite successfully sued over such use in the Harry Potter field. As I said, I've seen people run afoul of Disney as well.

I don't disagree that a rights-holder like Disney could make life miserable for anyone who uses anything Disney, without Disney's authorization, whether any action Disney takes is warranted or not.

But look to Stanford's "A Fairy Use Tale" for uses of Disney film clips that fall nicely within fair use guidelines. Granted, the Disney film clips in "A Fairy Use Tale" were used for an educational purpose, and that was one reason why I asked David about the proposed uses of the film stills for his app. An educational use is more likely to be a fair use of protected material than a commercial use would be.

But I DO disagree that the proposed use is necessarily infringement without a fair use defense.

Trivia games rely on preexisting material. A game would need to avoid centering on a single protected work (e.g., trivia questions about a single film) and should not be marketed by capitalizing off the trademarks or copyrights of the films featured in the game, but the four deciding factors used by a court when analyzing infringement could weigh heavily in favor of the unauthorized user/game maker.

A personal review of the specifics is required to determine how much legal risk there is in proceeding with the sale of an app of the sort proposed where no permission has been granted in advance. There will definitely be a risk without prior authorization, which is why permission should be obtained, but I am not convinced the game maker would lose an infringement suit should his movie app result in a lawsuit.

 

[David12]

Thank you FlyingRon & quincy, its very frustrating all that copyright issue, not 100% clear. Is that really matter where i am from if i do that kind of app? Im from Israel.

 

[Zigner]

Thank you FlyingRon & quincy, its very frustrating all that copyright issue, not 100% clear. Is that really matter where i am from if i do that kind of app? Im from Israel.

Wouldn't YOU be "frustrated" if somebody stole something from you?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Is that really matter where i am from if i do that kind of app? Im from Israel.

Yes it really matters. Israel has laws that are different than the US. We do US law here.

 

[quincy]

Thank you FlyingRon & quincy, its very frustrating all that copyright issue, not 100% clear. Is that really matter where i am from if i do that kind of app? Im from Israel.

Thank you for providing the name of your country, David.

It will be the laws of Israel that you most need to concern yourself with as it will be in Israel, under Israel's laws, that any suit against you will be filed. But, yes, if you intend to market your app worldwide, the laws of other countries will come into play as well.

You are not alone in being frustrated by copyright laws. They are complex and often hard to understand. The easiest way to handle copyright issues is to remember that, if you did not create it, someone else did - and the rights belong to the creator. It will be the exceptions to this rule that cause the most trouble.

Your app could be an exception to the rule in that fair use in the US permits certain unauthorized uses of protected works. Unfortunately, the only way to determine for sure that your use is an exception is to have a court determine that it is - and if a court is making that determination, it means your use made a copyright holder unhappy enough to sue you.

It is, therefore, wisest to get permission from any rights-holder whose IP you want to use. This can certainly take time and effort but it does not take a lot of money. A lawsuit will.

Good luck with your app - and thanks for the thanks.