Legal Question in Entertainment Law in New York
I was commissioned to do a piece of artwork copying and designing a piece from an original piece but updating and changing some aspects like the head and adding tattoos on said piece, the piece is being given as a gift. The piece contains a logo from a pretty dominate NBA team logo. Where would I write a letter to obtain permission to utilize the team logo in this piece.
1 Answer from Attorneys
You can easily look up contact info online, but unless you meet some rather stringent criteria you will not likely qualify for any of their licenses, of course we can never conclude anything here: http://www.nba.com/media/NBAP_Licensee_Application.pdf
If this project was largely unknown it is highly doubtful you have anything to worry about, but if for example it received a lot of attention, etc. you could certainly be held liable for both copyright and trademark infringement under the theory of contributory infringement.
If you would like to discuss further over a free phone consult, feel free to contact me anytime that is convenient.
Our firm is now referred by the American Bar Association (see under the New York section):
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/delivery_legal_services/resources/programs_to_help_those_with_moderate_income.html
Kind regards,
Frank
www.LanternLegal.com
866-871-8655
DISCLAIMER: this is not intended to be specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. No attorney-client relationship is formed on the basis of this posting.