Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

contribuatory infringement

Hi, I have a question related to copyright law.

We have many clients that sell furniture. They have permission from the furniture manufactureres they purchase from to use certain color images of the products in thier respective printed catalogs.

Do we (as a publisher) have the right to print catalogs that contain these images if we, oursleves, do not have permission from the manufacturer to reproduce those images in print? And sell those printed catalogs at a profit?

Is it sufficient that the client does, but we do not?

Can we be held liable for copyright infringement if we print these for our client (if they have permision and we do not)?

Thanks so much!

--name removed--


Asked on 3/02/04, 2:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jeff Lambert Attorney at Law

Re: contribuatory infringement

To be entirely certain, you should do two things to protect yourself: (1) get a copy of the written license agreement between the furniture manufacturer and your client to determine exactly what the rights and obligations are for each party; and (2) have your client(s) sign a written contract with you that contains an indemnity clause, wherein the client will indemnify you for any liability incurred as a result of you printing their advertisement (for lack of a better word) in the catalog. If the client(s) only have an oral license from the furniture manufacturers/designers to reprint in catalogs, you will need to go straight to the manufacturers/designers to ascertain your rights to print in catalogs. If you must pursue this latter course of action, and the manufacturers/designers give you the green light to print, get it confirmed in writing for your records.

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Answered on 3/02/04, 3:15 pm


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