I’m thinking of making a video of me reviewing video games (old and new possibly). I want to show footage of the game as well as the box. Do I need permission of the video game company to do this? Please only answer if you know, not if you are guessing.
You do not need permission as long as you don’t include too much of the game — but the use of clips of reasonable length, and the box cover, for purposes of illustrating your review is perfectly acceptible. (Its called fair use under copyright law. There are lots of kinds of fair use, and reviews are well-established as one.)
Categories
Pages
Tags
Archives
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
Blogroll
Meta
3 Comments
It depends on how much of the game you present in your example.
If the video has 100 scenes, and you use only 5 screen shots, that should not be a problem.
Which is why movie critics can review movies without permission, but you can only use a very limited amount.
I’d suggest you talk this over with a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property rights.
I am not a lawyer, but I’ve studied this extensively for use in my part time secular job in which I create intellectual property.
References :
You do not need permission as long as you don’t include too much of the game — but the use of clips of reasonable length, and the box cover, for purposes of illustrating your review is perfectly acceptible. (Its called fair use under copyright law. There are lots of kinds of fair use, and reviews are well-established as one.)
References :
Absolutely, you can do that. Use of copyrighted material in a larger work, as in others research used to buttress a conclusion or argument of your own, or examples in a review of other works is permissible under the Fair Use Clause of the copyright laws. You can also use them in a satire or for personal use without permission. (Porky Pig singing ‘Blue Christmas’ is an example of Fair Use that does not need permission because it is a satire).
References :