Legal Question in Business Law in Pennsylvania
I want to use a picture of the monopoly man on a billboard advertisement for my business. If I do not say or mention that it is THE Monopoly Man (I just want to emphasize the world monopoly in my ad) is this legal? It would just be a picture him with no reference or mention to the board game.
3 Answers from Attorneys
If people who see your ad will realize he's the Monopoly man, then no. The character and his likeness are someone else's intellectual property. You can only use his likeness with the owners' permission. Even if they are willing to give you that permission (unlikely), you would have to pay for it.
You have two issues. One is copyright, so the creative expression is still protected unless the image was first published prior to 1926, And the other is trademark, so if your use presents a false association or is likely to confuse the market as to its source then this can be a problem.
If you need clarification, feel free to contact me anytime that is convenient.
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Kind regards,
Frank
Natoli-Legal, LLC
www.LanternLegal.com
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That's about the worst idea I've seen posted here. Figure out something else for your billboard.
Good luck.
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