Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois
Pictures for reviews
If a website is doing un biased reviews of products is it legal for me to use pictures of the products being reviewed or do you have to the manufacturers permission?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Pictures for reviews
As long as the pictures are not copyrighted.
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Re: Pictures for reviews
It's likely that any pictures you use for your fair commentary will be copyrighted be someone, whether it be the manufacturer of a product, photographer, or ad agency. However, the law allows for limited use of another's copyrighted images for, among other things, fair comment and criticism. This is a branch of the "fair use" exception to the copyright laws. The exception is very narrow. A similar narrow exception exists for the limited use of product names, logos, and other trademarks used in conjunction with fair and honest product reviews.
I think there's more of an issue that your reviews are fair and balanced and do not rise to the level of trade or product disparagement, so be careful. As long as your reviews are grounded in honest and fair testing of the product, you should be OK...
Regards,
Don Simon
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