What is the name of your state? North Carolina
I have made myself a website to sell my personal retro game collection on and would like to build my brand and before i publish the site i wanted to make sure on copywrite laws on the game system logos and brand logos, since i am making profit(Commercial) do i have to just include a disclaimer or do i have to ask the people like sony/nintendo/microsoft/atari if it is fine if i use the logos? I am pretty sure the second choice is best but how could i contact them for that ? My business isnt established yet also i dont know if that will change the situation or not.
There is
copyright (right to copy) and
copywrite (writing advertising text).
You have copyright laws to consider but mostly you have trademark laws to consider with your website sales. But you shouldn't have too much trouble avoiding infringing on the rights-holders rights.
The important thing to remember with your website and your sales of brand name products is that you cannot build your own brand by capitalizing on the reputations of established brands or infringing on the rights of trademark holders.
Your website must not state or imply that you are affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by the trademark holders. You are reselling products that you (legally) purchased - and this is legal - but you are not connected with the companies that created these products.
You can name your business whatever you want to name it as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. You will want to do a trademark search to better ensure that you aren't using a name that is the same as or similar to another's mark. You do not want to confuse consumers into thinking you are something you are not.
You can, however, identify the products that are for sale on your website by using their real names as descriptors. Using trademarks in a descriptive way is a fair use of a trademark.
An example: A car that is a Ford Mustang can be called a Ford Mustang. A website that is not affiliated with Ford Motor Company cannot sell Ford Mustangs by calling the website "The Official Ford Mustang" site, however, and cannot use the Ford blue oval logo or the Mustang logo in advertising or when promoting the site.
Any photos you use to market your products should be taken by you. You are the copyright owner of any photos you take. This avoids any copyright issues with the photos you use on your website. If you want to use photos taken by others, you will need to acquire permission (a license) from the copyright holders.
Disclaimers do not prevent lawsuits. They potentially can mitigate damages in the event of a lawsuit loss, however, so a disclaimer should be drafted for your website. A good disclaimer reduces your liability and also protects your website content from use by others. Disclaimers are best written by legal professionals.
Because in a forum setting it is impossible to cover all that needs to be covered, you would be smart to sit down with an IP attorney in your area for a personal review if your website plans.
You can also find some helpful information on the Knight Community News Network site (
http://www.kcnn.org). Look for KCNN's "limiting legal risks" module. KCNN has information geared to online writers.
Good luck.
