Working on my first vehicle wrap

[tranceraider]

This sounds like a job for Vanilla Ice

 

[tranceraider]

But on a serious note, Bobby H are you saying that font styles used in movies are intellectual property also. Like lets say a customer wants to use the Bladerunner font, am I not allowed to do that because it will remind people (look similar) to the movie's logo?

I mean I have no problem changing the logo of our business if it means that we will be in trouble in the future, I guess I could ask a lawyer. I think one of my neighbors is a lawyer I'll ask her.

 

[signage]

I think one of my neighbors is a lawyer I'll ask her.

What type of lawyer is she?

 

[oldgoatroper]

She would have to be a lawyer specializing in patent and trademark law. Particularly trademark issues.

Any other lawyer would just be guessing -- unless they went away for a while and edjumacated themselves in the areas of interest.

 

[signage]

She would have to be a lawyer specializing in patent and trademark law. Particularly trademark issues.

Any other lawyer would just be guessing -- unless they went away for a while and edjumacated themselves in the areas of interest.

My point exactly! If it is not their field they would be making an educated quess!

 

[tranceraider]

Thanks guys, I'll ask her or if she knows anyone to ask. I grew up with her for 20 years so I'm sure she will at least guide me to someone who might know.

 

[Bobby H]

Bobby H are you saying that font styles used in movies are intellectual property also. Like lets say a customer wants to use the Bladerunner font, am I not allowed to do that because it will remind people (look similar) to the movie's logo?

Lettering on its own is different.

You can create a piece of advertising with words that use a letter style similar to the lettering on the Bladerunner poster (such as some of the freebie Bladerunner fonts available on the web). But if you use the actual term "Bladerunner" on anything you can get in trouble whether you're styling it in the familiar typeface or not.

Fonts have their own specific licensing issues though. Some are available for free for any use (like many of the ones at FontSquirrel). You have to buy most others and yet most commercial fonts have restricted uses. I bought the Gotham family from Typography.com for $299. I'm able to use it on one computer for standard graphics purposes. The license has some restrictions on how it can be embedded in PDFs. It cannot be uploaded and used as a web font on web sites. I would have to convert the lettering to outlines if I used SVG images or have it rasterized on PNG or GIF buttons.

The funny thing is I can create some lettering from scratch that looks like Gotham or maybe even go so far as to making knock off fonts of the entire family. And it would be legal as long as I didn't use any of the data from those original fonts. I just couldn't call the imitation "Gotham." This is one reason why Helvetica clones such as Swiss 721 or Nimbus Sans are able to be distributed.

Logos aren't lettering. Their designs can be copyrighted and trademarked. In fact the Jurassic Park logo is a registered trademark. Its combination of elements, the T-Rex skeleton in particular, are easy to identify.

 

[tranceraider]

Logos aren't lettering. Their designs can be copyrighted and trademarked. In fact the Jurassic Park logo is a registered trademark. Its combination of elements, the T-Rex skeleton in particular, are easy to identify.

So if I draw my own skeleton free hand then vectorize it would that benefit me or just the idea of a trex skeleton is trademarked?

 

[oldgoatroper]

Copyright and trademark are two separate and distinct things.

Copyright protects a work, not an idea or concept.

Trademark protects an idea or concept.

If you created your own t-rex, but it looked very similar to the Jurasic trademark, then you would not be infringing anyone's copyright, but you would be infringing the trademark.

 

[tranceraider]

Thanks for the information guys

 

[CanuckSigns]

I looked at your website, and your work looks very nice, i'm puzzled why your own logo lacks any real imagination?

if a customer came to you for a logo design and wanted to incorporate some random trademarked image into their logo (lets say they wanted their name on the harley davidson shield) would you do it or would you try to guide them to something more reflective of their business? something that potential customers would look at and instantly recognize as theirs, not HD.

 

[tranceraider]

I looked at your website, and your work looks very nice, i'm puzzled why your own logo lacks any real imagination?

if a customer came to you for a logo design and wanted to incorporate some random trademarked image into their logo (lets say they wanted their name on the harley davidson shield) would you do it or would you try to guide them to something more reflective of their business? something that potential customers would look at and instantly recognize as theirs, not HD.

Valid point, we just took the logo that my dad used while we were growing up really. I will talk to the family about it and see what we want to do. Thanks again for the information guys.