Are these legal?

[SJL]

I was thinking of adding these kind of things to my site. Userbars I am not sure if they are legal or not. They seem to be popular but I don't if anybody would sue over such things. I would like to create my own for my own site. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Mittineague]

I don't think it would be wise to lift a trademarked/copyrighted image and use it without first

• reading the company's terms regarding the use of the image
• contacting the company and asking for their permission

[Dan Schulz]

I think he wants to know if it's ok to create a userbar and then add that bar to his site. If that's the case, then reading the Terms of Use would be a VERY good idea.

[Shyflower]

I think he wants to know if it's ok to create a userbar and then add that bar to his site. If that's the case, then reading the Terms of Use would be a VERY good idea.

Well, no... looking at his link, user bars are for forum signatures. They sure wouldn't work here. Moreover, any smart forum owner will ban them since they generally do seem to violate trademarks and copyrights.

[Dan Schulz]

He wants to create his own userbars for use on his own site. What does SitePoint have to do with it? Reading the TOS on the site will be a good place to start.

[Shyflower]

He wants to create his own userbars for use on his own site. What does SitePoint have to do with it? Reading the TOS on the site will be a good place to start.

Okay - got it now

it's early here. Sorry All (and Dan!)

[SJL]

Thanks for the replies. I am actually starting a blog resource website. I am looking for new things to add. I do not intend to take the ones on that site. I am going to change the size and look. The same concept is there though. Ex. X-Box Addict, etc... I hope that clears it up.

@Dan - I don't know what Terms of Use you are talking about.

They of course would be free. Any more suggestions?

Thanks.

[Mittineague]

Not your terms of use, the company that owns the rights to the image. Even if you give your creation away free, if your site has revenue generating advertisements, it might be construed as a commercial use of their image. You've got to be careful.
Take for example, the cola site image that the page you linked to has. If you go to their site's gallery page, there's this:

USAGE RIGHTS:
These photos are for editorial use only in newspapers, news magazines, trade publications and broadcast media. All images remain the property of The Coca-Cola Company. Under no circumstances can these images be used for any personal or commercial purpose.

[SJL]

Okay, I understand. I take it that the images on this site are not legal then?

If you have a site that people submit their own 'userbars' to for others to use, are you held responsible? I know that MySpace and other sites say they are not resposible because their users upload the content, not them. Does that work?

If you do have images with a company logo on it would they have to first contact you to remove it or can they just sue?

I don't see how this is any different than going to a MySpace resource site and seeing a layout for a movie or a celebrity layout. I have never heard of any of those sites being sued for anything like that. It is all good promotion for the movies, celebrities, companies, etc... Does anyone think that anyone will actually start something over small things like these?

Looking forward to your replies. Thanks.

[Shyflower]

Okay, I understand. I take it that the images on this site are not legal then?

If you have a site that people submit their own 'userbars' to for others to use, are you held responsible? I know that MySpace and other sites say they are not resposible because their users upload the content, not them. Does that work?

If you do have images with a company logo on it would they have to first contact you to remove it or can they just sue?

I don't see how this is any different than going to a MySpace resource site and seeing a layout for a movie or a celebrity layout. I have never heard of any of those sites being sued for anything like that. It is all good promotion for the movies, celebrities, companies, etc... Does anyone think that anyone will actually start something over small things like these?

Looking forward to your replies. Thanks.

I am sure you understand just because someone "gets away" with doing something illegal, that doesn't make it okay to do.

More and more large companies area defending their trademarks and copyrights against infringement from anyone, whether big or small. Maybe you missed this thread?

http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/show...t=Getty+Images

[SJL]

I am sure you understand just because someone "gets away" with doing something illegal, that doesn't make it okay to do.

More and more large companies area defending their trademarks and copyrights against infringement from anyone, whether big or small. Maybe you missed this thread?

http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/show...t=Getty+Images

Yes, I completely understand. I did not see that thread. Good to know. I guess I will move away from this. Thanks for all the replies.

[Mittineague]

I wouldn't necessarily give up on it. Just get permission before using any first. As long as your site is a "family friendly" type of site, I imagine some companies might welcome the non-commercial use of their images as a type of free advertising. Offer them a link-back to their site and put the "tm" or "c" on your modified image and maybe a legal use policy that re-iterates theirs etc. and I'll bet you get a few go-aheads.

[SJL]

If most companies do not want their images used for any use other than editorial, I can't imagine that they would give the green light. I was planning on keeping the image intact. There will be nothing unprofessional on the site. I was mainly just planning on entertianment, name brands, and services that are most popular. When you say they may welcome 'non-commercial' use does that mean no ads on the site? Thanks for your reply.

[Dan Schulz]

Non commercial as in don't try to actually sell something of yours on the site with the intention of making a profit; ie: be in business.