Is it illegal to include trademarked products in an artwork?

So I’m working on this project for the blender guru competition

That is set in 2027
Going for a realistic tone and has somewhat of a message in it

( One of them being corporate control i.e, let’s say if we have holograms and 3d printing has evolved, you’d have microtransactions for the building you are living in)

So is it okay if say… one of the billboards was advertising an… Iphone 9s or Windows 10.5?

People make images containing real products all the time, the only thing to keep in mind though is that you would not be allowed to use the images in any kind of commercial activity without permission from the company.

So is it okay if say… one of the billboards was advertising an… Iphone 9s or Windows 10.5?
If Apple or Microsoft ask you to remove it then consider doing so, especially if you show their brands in negative light. But you and the competition are no more then a fly on the backside of an elephant in terms of importance to them so go ahead if it is still within the competition rules

Oh okay then,

nothing will happen if I make a billboard advertising “Autodesk Blender 2028 only 129$ per month”

I always imagined that autodesk,apple and MS were just looking for any guy to pick a law suit with

That will blow up your reputation as an artist :slight_smile:

Unless you are a cartoonist and you want to exaggerate all of the time.

Well, it’s 129$ because inflation :slight_smile:

and… while it’s unlikely that blender get’s bought by ADSK…
adsk does buy a lot of things…
especially things that threaten their dominance in the market

trademark
NO

Copyright
YES

the two are very different and set up for VERY !!! different reasons

Copyright was HIJACKED by legacy businesses from the GOVERNMENT -FOR THE PEOPLE !!!

Trademark it for PROTECTING the PUBLIC from harm
and uses the old UK concept of " A moron in a hurry" on product confusion

as long as you are NOT selling a computer operating system the trademark on the windows logo dose NOT matter

however the COPYRIGHT dose

but here is the kicker

most of the time YOU CAN NOT know if you infringed or NOT without spending about $1,000,000 and having the court say one way or the other .

i am NOT!!! a lawyer , i just read a lot

you have noticed that in the last ten years that the logos on T-SHIRTS on TV shows are blurred out
this FREE ADVERTISING might get the video producers SUED for the FREE ADVERTISING

yes this is FRACKED UP and needs to change

That stupid blurring of shirts is USA only, because it’s the best country in the world.

Laws regarding this kind of things could be different in different countries. Look up “fair use” in copyright law in the country you are based, I think that’s often what’s referred to by satir images.

What I’ve heard, the guise of ‘free advertising’ has been used as an attempted justification to simply pirate everything that is out there instead of paying for it (the same with running a business based on making money off of company brands that you had no hand in creating).

It really depends on the company, some are very protective of their property while others don’t really care all that much (as long as they’re not losing money from others making use of it).

Edited and PM’ed instead.

I formatted your pc against your will,
it’s not hacking,
it’s free maintenance :wink:

I agree with the rest of the post though

Bear in mind that avoiding lawsuit liability isn’t the only reason for blurring. Some producers don’t want to give away free advertising, so they’ll blur logos unless a company has paid to be featured. Also note that some brands do not wish to be “freely advertised” and therefore associated with some material. Another thing to note, specific to trademark, is that trademark owners are legally obligated to defend their trademarks against dilution (to avoid the “Xerox” or “Kleenex” effect). Otherwise, they risk losing their trademark.

IP law is a hairy subject. Simplified explanations are useful to explain some of the principles, but gross oversimplifications don’t help at all.

…in USA, where lawyers need cases to get money. That’s their primary job, the actual “law” is not that important. Not only that, US is constantly trying to force their ideas of “law” in other countries as well.

Let’s avoid getting into politics here… both for the health of this discussion and the fact that not doing so is a violation of the Forum Rules.

Um, this is not supposed to be a political discussion. How does this pertain to the original post?

What’s wrong with that subject? Is it a forbidden subject, because this forum follows US style of “freedom” of speech? I’m against everything that limits the freedom of artistic expression. And art in my mind is very much about politics, too. The way we see this world and what is wrong in it.

Please read the forum rules as linked in my last post. This is not a free speech forum. Furthermore, if you’d like to discuss that topic further, please send me a PM or make a post in the Blender Artists Website Support forum.

Don’t you just hate it when people use that excuse when they derail the topic?

Fweeb is unamerican
:frowning:
Next thing you know he’ll take our damn swears away!