Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Hello, Legal Advice! I have a question regarding Copyright Use and things of that nature, especially regarding how one can use logos/names of companies in one's own YouTube videos. I am planning on making a video blog in the next couple of months and have written some possible ideas for videos, like my experience at my first job at El Pollo Loco, my experience with a particular pharmaceutical company, CVS, and recording just a day in my life. I wasn't quite sure if I'd be able to talk about any of those subjects, though, because most of them have something to do with a company. For the first video, I'd have to mention El Pollo Loco, or at least imply it. For my second video, I would need to say CVS, and if I record a day of my life, I'm sure there will be logos somewhere in the video. Basically- 1. Can a YouTube video have references to the names of certain companies? 2. Can a YouTube video show logos? And because I'm sure I'll have a couple of these: 3. What are the rules regarding parodies of songs or movies?


Asked on 6/17/12, 9:17 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Richard Galati

The best practice in your situation is to refrain from using copyrighted or trademarked materials in your Youtube video.

If you must use these logos, your use of the logos should not be a significant reason for people to be viewing the videos, and you should not state or imply that those companies support or endorse your content.

Parodies of songs or movies are generally not considered copyright infringement if you generated the music/lyrics/video content yourself. Youtube's terms of service will also give you guidelines as to what is/is not acceptable. A good practice would be to link to the original source video/music in your Youtube description and state something like, "This is a parody of 'Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone' by Columbia Pictures [imdb.com link here]."

Of course, I would also advise you to have your videos reviewed by a copyright and trademark attorney if they become popular to make sure that specific references you end up making are kosher with the law. Good luck!

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Answered on 9/24/12, 1:55 pm


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