Dear Rich: Nolo’s Patent, Copyright & Trademark Blog

Dear Rich: I took a photograph of a twin steeple church several years ago. The church has since been destroyed by fire and the location is now a retail strip mall. I would like to sell the photo of the church as art to local residents in the form of framed prints, greeting cards, etc. Do I need a property release for a property that doesn't exist anymore? No (and you didn't need a property release in the first place). As the Dear Rich Staff has indicated in previous entries, copyright law permits the copying and reproduction of publicly viewable buildings. Trademark law rarely gets in the way except if the building (or some feature of it) is used as a trademark -- not the case with a church steeple. By the way, there's always hope that your strip mall will return to church steeples.

Dear Rich: I am writing a travel book. I would like to include photographs of items that are subject to a Disney trademark, such as the Disneyland castle.  If I own the copyright to the photograph, would I need to get a license to include it in my book?  Are there any issues with discussing these items, but without including photographs? What about other places in the Disney parks that are on Disney property, but probably not subject to any trademarks, such as a building on Main Street or a trash can? First, we're not sure that the Disney World trash cans lack trademarks. (And in any case, even if they don't contain trademarks, trash cans can be arranged to create famous Disney marks -- as our blog photo demonstrates). As for the remainder of your questions, Disney creates some hurdles for travel publishers. 

"All requests to use materials which are copyrighted by The Walt Disney Company (e.g. photos, logos, characters, etc.) must be directed, in writing, to the following address: Walt Disney World Legal Department Attn: Requests Post Office Box 10000 Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-1000 Due to the volume of third-party requests that we receive and in view of the consideration process that these requests are subject to, please know that it may take up to eight weeks for a response to be provided. As such, any requests that are received indicating the need for an immediate response are automatically declined and returned to the sender. We appreciate your understanding." 

Dear Rich: I saw an article on your blog relating to permission to publish pictures of buildings. I'm currently designing a logo which is based on an iconic building in London. You probably need to know 'how much' it's based on the building, but what sort of ground am I on with regard to copyright? The short answer is that you may run into trademark problems (we're assuming your use for the logo is in the U.K,). Copyright is not likely to be an issue for you. The architecture for newer buildings is protected under U.K. copyright law (the life of the author/architect plus seventy years) but there is an exception  (see section 62) that permits graphic or photographic representations for publicly displayed architecture. The Dear Rich staff is more more concerned about your rights under trade mark law (it's two words in the U.K.) A logo is intended to establish an association with a product or service. If the building you are using is already associated with a commercial enterprise -- for example, the TransAmerica pyramid in foggy downtown San Francisco  -- then consumers may be confused by your use, or alternatively, a U.K. trade mark examiner, may reject your registration. A trade mark examiner may also reject the application if the use of the building implies royal patronage or if it is prohibited for statutory reasons. Since so much time and money is invested in a new logo (and particularly if you are creating the work for a client), it may be time to bring in the lawyers.