Court Rules Gran Turismo Protected By 1st Amendment In Including Company Logos For Realism
from the track-speech dept
Ever since video games got to a point of enough realism, how those games depict real-life locations and real life "props" has become an interesting question due to, of course, trademark law. Electronic Arts recently stepped into this question, for entirely unrelated reasons, when it announced it was no longer going to ask for permission to depict realistic and branded weapons in its shooting games. The question has always been more prevalent in the world of sports games, however, with stadiums named for advertising partners and advertising depicted all over the stadiums and equipment within the sport.
Well, we've got another case of a video game producer attempting to rely on First Amendment protections to be able to depict a third party brand within its game, as Gran Turismo made use of Italian flooring company Virag's logo for realistic effect. And, according to the outcome between Virag and Sony in California, the First Amendment wins.
Virag is an Italian flooring manufacturer -- and it also sponsors car races. Its name and logo have appeared on tracks in Sony's realism-obsessed Gran Turismo games, as seen in the image above, and the company sued Sony in California -- but a judge just tossed out most of Virag's claims.This is good news on several levels. To start, having a judge slap down an obnoxious attempt by a company to sue over the depiction of that company's brand, essentially free advertising, is always welcome. Add to that the further cementing of video games as a medium of expressive art, something that really ought to have been settled in the minds of the masses by now. And, finally, anything that gives game developers a greater sense of freedom to pursue realism with less regard for the insane permission culture that has invaded the arts works for me as well.
With this order, the First Amendment status of video games as an expressive medium continues to be upheld. "Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6 are expressive works that qualify for First Amendment protection," judge Laurel Beeler wrote.
As a few commentators have pointed out, Sony likely prevailed because the case was heard in the US, where we have fair use provisions with some actual teeth, compared with the EU where, if anything, the culture of permission is even greater. I would argue that if a region's intellectual property law is such that companies feel emboldened to try to end what is essentially free advertising within art, some revisions to those laws are needed.
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Filed Under: first amendment, gran turismo, logos, realism, video games
Companies: sony, virag
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In effect, this ruling will allow advertisers to use brand names and logos from other companies in their advertisements, simply by driving past the logo. This is a bad ruling that won't survive an appeal.
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You don't think I need a sarc mark for the above, do you?
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It's already legal for advertisers to use the brand names and logos from competitors in their advertising, as long as they do so without confusing consumers or misrepresenting their competitor's products/services.
You must not watch a lot of TV in the US. There are a bunch of commercials that depict their competitors brands and logos.
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Is this very much different than...
Not sure if that's to suggest that Thomas Harris endorses Di-Gels.
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My apologies but I just don't see this decision surviving an appeal. The decision was the wrong decision that this idiot judge could have made. It's one thing if companies are filing ridiculous lawsuits over copyright and trademark rights but this decision is going to have serious ramifications if it's allowed to stand.
This decision basically stripped the trademarks that companies and businesses have registered in their names and placed them under the protection of the first amendment so that anyone can use those brand names without having to compensate the company for the right to do so.
Expect not only Virag to appeal but also expect to see 'friend of the court' amicus briefs in favor of Virag. The judge simply didn't consider what other industries might be affected by this decision.
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Also you don't seem to fully understand the issue. Armchair quarterback the judge after you learn the difference between a trademark and a copyright.
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Umm, no, not quite. If someone tries to slap a Pepsi logo on their product, that's still not acceptable, all the ruling is saying is that you can incorporate the logo in something else, like a game or short film or something, and not have to ask permission to do so first, as should be the case. Trademarks are to prevent customer confusion, there's not likely to be much of that regarding random trademarks on in-game ads for a racetrack.
Expect not only Virag to appeal but also expect to see 'friend of the court' amicus briefs in favor of Virag. The judge simply didn't consider what other industries might be affected by this decision.
Because it's not the judge's job to consider that sort of thing. So what if it might have an impact on another industry, he was ruling on the case before him, and the facts before him led him to rule a particular way.
The idea that judges should always have to take into consideration how their rulings might affect other companies/industries is a horrible one, as it would pretty much ensure that no rulings would be made that might negatively affect a company/industry.
"Can't rule against company A, because that would affect companies B, C, and D, who do similar things, so even though A is in the wrong, I'm going to have to side with them here."
No, just no. Free speech is more important that the profits of companies, so if this ruling negatively affects them, tough.
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That's absolutely the best two sentences of satire I've read in a very long time.
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You're obviously confused. This case is about including trademarks for purposes of veracity, whereas product placement is a form of sponsorship wherein PepsiCo pays a movie studio to have characters drinking nothing but Mountain Dew (for example). Basically, this case sets the precedent that a movie studio or games developer/publisher don't have to clear the appearance of logos if they appear the same way in real life, it says nothing about the right of movie studios to turn down sponsorship fees for product placement, which they've always had.
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A pyrrhic victory thus far .
"At the same time, U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco allowed Virag SRL and its lawyer James Kim of Cole Schotz Meisel Forman & Leonard to pursue their claim that Sony violated the personal right of publicity of Virag's owner, Mirco Virag, by depicting the name of the company in the games without permission. The opinion was released on Friday."
So the first amendment stuff is thrown out, but the case continues on right of publicity.
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Actually if you read the decision on this the judge has allowed the case to continue on right of publicity of the owner, so this may very well cost Sony in the end
Your point seems to be about a distinction between products for placement and for 'veracity', and about a precedent that can't of been set as this wasn't a ruling, just an "ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART THE DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS" (caps from the document)
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Or not.
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It's a bit ironic that you would call the judge an idiot and then demonstrate your complete confusion of copyright and trademarks. These are two different sets of laws for two different purposes, and it's sad how often the two are incorrectly conflated under the guise of "intellectual property". You should learn the difference before making any more dire predictions about the fate of poor old Hollywood.
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I have failed to find anything, so my plan has been foiled.
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Quite the opposite. Hollywood MUST like this ruling. Had it gone the other way, it could stand that any time a movie studio decided to film something in Times Square, they would be forced to get permission from THOUSANDS of trademark holders. There is probably no urban environment that Hollywood would ever be able to film in again.
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Re: A pyrrhic victory thus far .
It also might be different if the logo and name were central to the game, but they aren't and are only really there for realism.
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Doubtful. Any sensible judge will rule that Virag is basically enjoying free product placement and thus rule against them.
[...] "ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART THE DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS" (caps from the document).
A document which isn't linked to from either this article or the Gamasutra one, and which would probably be a pain in the arse to read on a mobile phone (PDF) if it was. Your point?
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Welcome to another episode of Techdirt Advertising Irony Theatre...
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Re: Welcome to another episode of Techdirt Advertising Irony Theatre...
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Not really. It depends on how and where the logos are being used. If they are primarily 'background' visuals, which simply add depth of Realism to a scene, then it neither implies sponsorship nor endorsement of the game and would most likely survive court challenges.
And frankly speaking, the reason why you will often see logos, etc. replaced or blurred out in movies/media is not because of copyright concerns, but rather the Production company is unwilling to give out free advertising.
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LOLOLOLOL
You're an idiot
You're an idiot
You're an idiot
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