Is a halloween mask copyrighted???

S

Solomon_Gomez

New member
If I want to use the SCREAM mask in a video that I'ma shoot, can I be sued for using the mask???

i.e., Michael Myers, Freddy Kruger...etc.???

Copyright infringement?
 
so are you saying that the "MAKER" of the mask (halloween-mask.com) paid the "CREATOR" of the movie a license fee to be able to sell the mask???

is that what protects me from getting sued???
 
It's not that cut and dry. You need to consult a lawyer. In general, photography law permits you to take and use a picture of anything not "national security" related. If you have permission to stand there, you can take a picture there of whatever it is and sell it. Even if you don't have permission to stand there, you can only be charged with trespassing, there's no law that says you can't take a picture of something and sell it. However there are exceptions. You can't take a picture of people doing private or personal things, whether it's conducting business or having dinner in a private home or whatever. Some objects are trademarked and cannot be reproduced, and this would apply to the masks. You can get sued for making an album cover with the mask. That said, you ARE allowed to make a satire of Michael or Freddy in this case, and that's okay so long as it is a satire and not a re-make. It has to be a *clear* satire though.

Does that help?
 
what im saying is that if i buy a t-shirt from the company NIKE, and wear it in a video or picture, even if its the same NIKE t-shirt made famous in another movie, there is nothing they can do to me...the same with the mask, there are a million masks like that out there, if they charged everyone who took a picture or video in that mask they would be sending a bill to alot of people
 
trezza said:
You can get sued for making an album cover with the mask.
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But what if I DON'T use it on my album cover??? I just wanna use it in a music video!

"f they charged everyone who took a picture or video in that mask they would be sending a bill to alot of people"

good point...

it would basically be illegal to take pix\vids of ur kids in a power ranger outfit...
 
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If you profit from the video then maybe, but who knows...ppl sue each other for everything nowadays.
 
Why don't you just find something more creative to use in the video? the michael meyers mask is just a william shatner mask. I dunno what they did to it to make it look so different, but do some research.
 
true...but the mask is just a PROP in the flick...

think about all the brand names and trademark shyt that's used in movies...

are they really getting all that shyt cleared???

brand names, clubs, restaraunts, malls, airports, clothes, computers, etc.

there are too many elements in a movie to just single out one and sue for it...in a way...

Darko said:
Why don't you just find something more creative to use in the video? the michael meyers mask is just a william shatner mask. I dunno what they did to it to make it look so different, but do some research.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I might just have to go to some shops and put one together...

don't bite unless you have to...right???
 
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A lot of times, companies pay to have their products placed in movies. That's why sometimes you'll see a can of pepsi blurred out or they'll use a generic can. Some companies don't want their products associated with certain things too. I dunno about the scream mask tho. That's a question for a lawyer.
 
if you arent making $20,000 a year off of the music or videos, i would say dont clear shi...i dont clear any of my samples. im not making enough money to even be considered a professional producer, so if someone sued me over something like that , i would file bankruptcy. thats never gonna happen so i dont worry about it, but if your getting enough attention to get sued then your def doing something right.
 
Companies with brands and teams of lawyers to protect those brands should be avoided in videos until you have your own team of lawyers to protect your own assets. Nowadays people blurring out soda cans can be taken 2 ways: They don't have permission to show it and they aren't getting paid to show it.

If you are running a music business, it's your job to avoid getting sued by anyone, since one lawsuit can wipe you out. That includes fans, businesses and other musicians. This is a no brainer, really. Just change the mask. If you can't afford the legal council, you can't afford a mistake either, they go together.

Good Luck!
 
once again if you arent making $20,000 a year, no one is going to sue you for the video,

do the damn thing and if they sue tell im told you it was ohk.
 
If you can't afford the legal council, you can't afford a mistake either...

good f'n point kid...

now i gotta figure out HOW to make the dayumn mask...
 
Just for the record, Scream is not the first place that mask appeared. It's been around for many years, it's just the first film it appeared in. Scream took the same liberties you intend to take. They may have slightly altered the mask a little, to make it token for the film, but I can't tell.

Issues about the rights of the first purchaser probably come into play with that mask, though. I'm not brushed up on visual proprietary laws enough to know.
 
AFAIK, most logos and brand names in music videos are blurred unless the company paid for product publicity. It's not a legal issue, more of a "if pepsi/nike/mcdonalds won't give us money to show their product, we won't give them any free advertising."

Hypothetically, even if there was some kind of trademark or copyright claim to that particular mask, which I'm inclined to say there isn't, using it in a music video infringing on that claim is even less likely. Simply using a trademark isn't infringement, it has to cause confusion or dilution, so for example, you can have a movie where the villain drives Caterpillar tractors to destroy a building, but it's highly unlikely that people will be less likely to buy real Caterpillar tractors because of that, or believe that they just witnessed a Caterpillar advertisement.
 
I was gonna use the same mask for my on fire video this weekend. I guess I'll use Schwarzwald from Big O instead. Doh!
 
the clothes logos are blurred because it's considered advertising and free publicity which the major video shows decided they weren't going to allow (because no cash was gettin' into their greedy, cheap a$$ pockets). as the masks of 'halloween' and 'nightmare...' are definite distinctive branding, (it becomes association and whether they would want to be connected to you and what's being represented like a de facto endorsement) you will more than likely have legal issues if it was on a video show, youtube, hell no.
 
I'm pretty sure you would be fine. I just learned about something like this in my business law class, Ill look it up for you when I get a hold of my book.
 
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