Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
the producer of the show, movie, play, etc. did not pay - or maybe not even approach - the owner of the copyrighted or trademarked logo, brand name, painting, photograph, etc. for the right to use it in the production. Owners of copyrights and trademarks have the legal right to compensation when their intellectual property is used or deny it's use even if payment is offered.
A lot of this obscuring of logos, etc. is an exercise in "not borrowing trouble". As others have said, some company might decide to sue the producers for "unauthorized use" or just get sore over a perceived endorsement of a competitor. If a TV chef is seen only using (for example) "Brand X Sugar", then the owners of "Brand Y Sugar" might get mad at her and refuse to buy ad time/commercials during her show. It would be rare (and kind of petty) but people in these situations have to jump through a thousand hoops to keep such things from happening.
Quite the switch from the early days of TV when a company would sponsor a TV show. Not only were there mid-program commercial messages, but the show would have to work the product into scenes (sponsor Phillip Morris would have Lucy and Ricky smoking during episodes of I Love Lucy, for example) and some shows even had the sponsor's name as part of the title ("GE Playhouse, etc.). Companies like Procter and Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive developed TV production arms just to produce TV shows that would push their products, which was a step above just buying ads during a show.
I've always thought it was weird that they cover up brand names on "non-scripted" television shows - everything ranging from "reality TV" to things like "house hunters". I've seen clothing brand logos blocked out, car manufacturer logos, etc.
What do they do this for? Scared of thinking someone is "endorsing" a product that could be considered controversial?
Because everyone is so greedy now.... They dont wanna give a second of "free" advertising to anyone! (Basically what it comes down to)
It's not about being paid for product placement as just about everybody here seems to think. Do you really think that they spend hour after hour contacting companies trying to get compensation for the products and images that may incidentally be shown in a TV program?
It's about copyright protection and about unauthorized use of an image. Rather than spend countless hours determining whether it is ok to show a logo or image or what have you, hiring lawyers to make determinations and then contacting the owner to get permission, it is just easier for the producer of the show to blur it out.
It's not about being paid for product placement as just about everybody here seems to think. Do you really think that they spend hour after hour contacting companies trying to get compensation for the products and images that may incidentally be shown in a TV program?
It's about copyright protection and about unauthorized use of an image. Rather than spend countless hours determining whether it is ok to show a logo or image or what have you, hiring lawyers to make determinations and then contacting the owner to get permission, it is just easier for the producer of the show to blur it out.
Actually its mostly about product placement which is a multi-million dollar business.
Fair use of a product is completely legal and does not violate copyright law.
You can put an Apple computer in a TV show without needing permission. BUT you can't take an Apple logo and put it on a prop (fake computer). You can use a $200 pair of Niki shoes but you can't put a Niki logo on a $20 pair of look alike shoes. But if you want Apple or Niki to pay and they decline then you can opt to blur the logo so as not to give them free advertising.
You can get in trouble if your fair use falls outside of norm and puts a product in a bad light. You can show somebody making a Skippy peanut-butter sandwich and eating it. But if you then show that person die from peanut allergies Skippy could then make a case.
Awhile back a garbage disposer company took exception to their product showing up when a character stuck their hand down the disposer and was injured. Had the scene just involved grinding up some potato peels that would fall under fair use.
No! It is not illegal to use products with their original logos on them! However, shows want to be paid for product placement, fear advertisers will react poorly to the free advertising & also fear lawsuits if their product are shown in a bad light. It's all a bunch of complicated crap called "product displacement" & is aggravating, but showing a Ford with it's logo or a can of Coke or an Apple computer on a show can be done legally with absolutely no permission from the company.
LOL.
Especially "product displacement"
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
