question for band logo

[mromanos]

Hey guys i know there are a lot of copyright restrictions and other stuff but this would be for a band logo and want to know if using this lois lane text logo would be ok to use for a bands logo or not. Any advice?

 

[fredfish]

Am I right in thinking that you are talking about using this font for a band name? Or is the band actually called "Lois Lane"?

If you want to use the font then as long as you find it legitimately (IE a genuinely free font or a paid for font that you pay for) you can use it for your own commercial purposes. If the band is called Lois Lane and you want to use that exact representation of the logo I suspect you may have difficulty.

Chances are that if the band doesn't make it big then no real problem - however there is no point cutting corners at this stage of development. It could come back to bite you on the behind down the line.

This is your marketing - much as you are probably more interested in the music (and rightly so) get these things ring now.

Best of luck!! - I am no copyright lawyer so take what as I say as it is intended - well intentioned but amateur advice. If you are unsure but long term want to make a go of this then seek professional advice.

Cheers

John

 

[mromanos]

thanks for the reply, the band is called The Lois Lane R&B Project, yes they would be using it for band merchandise etc so I'm guessing this would not be the way to go for them, would it be ok to use the lois lane character into the logo ?

 

[Tom Mann]

John's (ie, "fredfish's") advice is equally applicable to other images relating to Lois Lane, and perhaps, even the name itself. There is an excellent chance that some company holds the copyrights to such things, and should your band succeed beyond your wildest dreams and then appear to the world to have deep pockets, the copyright holder might come knocking at your door.

As John suggested, it's so easy to come up with your own logo, name, etc., just take care of this now rather than trying to fix the problem after the fact. Of course, the reality is that if the success of your group is limited, the copyright holders would likely have zero interest in you (ie, because no money would be available from you) unless you were doing something to hurt the image of Lois Lane (ie, decrease their other revenue streams).

As you may have picked up on: IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY.

Just a thought,

Tom M

 

[mromanos]

thanks, so does anyone have any suggestions on how i could incorporate lois lane into the band logo ? also if this is what is the problem with me using that, what s the diffrence between dazzle using it for mugs and t shirts etc?

 

[PhotoPadawan]

I think it depends where you are in the world, but a lot of copyright law is regulated internationally - for instance the Berne Convention now covers the majority of countries in the world and has standardised much of the law. If you are concerned with someone else using an image, what you might not know is that there is a real possibility that they have actually got permission from the copyright owner! If they haven't, then once the copyright owner finds out they may be in quite a bit of trouble!

Also copyrights don't last forever. It's worth doing research into who owns the copyright to lois lane and whether or not it is the public domain yet!

Hope this helps