It looks like the courts may be working against the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and their coveted gold man Oscar. Or at least the word Oscars and how it is used.
The Academy, which aggressively protects its “Oscar” name and image, filed suit against Italian broadcaster RAI International for trademark infringement over its broadcast of several awards programs using the word “Oscar.” Among the programs: Wine Oscars, Fashion Oscars, TV Oscars and Music Oscars, according to AMPAS’ attorney, David Quinto.
RAI International is distributed by satellite firm EchoStar Communications Corp., which is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. According to the suit, RAI broadcast the “Oscar” shows to U.S. subscribers as well as those in Italy.
In denying AMPAS’ motion for summary judgment, U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Collins wrote that there is no question that the Oscar mark is strong in the English language and, “The use of ‘Oscar’ to describe an award or awards program is arbitrary or fanciful and deserves maximum protection. However, EchoStar has presented evidence showing that the word ‘Oscar’ could be considered generic in Italy and in the Italian language.”
It is argued that the word has different meaning to the Italian people, and therefore should be treated as a different thing. Their use of the word is more generic and doesn’t refer to the movie industry that GENERATED the use of the word, so its not the same thing.
It’s happened to us all. We go into a restaurant and the waitress asks, “anything to drink” and you say Coke. If the restaurant serves any other brand than Coke, the waitress will invariably offer “Is Pepsi ok?” The majority of the cola drinking world will simply accept that. Some indignantly return a “whatever” in disgust that they would bother asking. There are some absurd souls who cannot stand the other brand despite their similarities, but thats just silly.
The point is, we call it Coke. Its not Coke, its cola. A type of soda pop. But we say Coke. But in a movie if someone says “Get me a Coke” its instantly product placement that must be paid for. WHY? Because its a trademarked name and they cannot use it unless its been paid for.
The Italians (or the Italian Broadcasters mentioned anyways) need to grasp this. They want to take the slang use of the word that has become so synonymous with “achievement” and use it to BRAND their Award shows. The Oscars earned that recognition. They have a trademarked name. The Oscars are recognized as the highest achievement in the film industry. This isn’t a co-incidence. The Oscars are named as such BECAUSE of what they are.
If they had a car and called it an Oscar then no, there would be no issue. But they have award ceremonies called Oscars. Had this been something that was ONLY in Italy, then it also wouldn’t be an issue but these awards are being broadcast on networks in North America to reach the Italian market.
Do I have anything against Italy? Not at all. Do I have anything against Trademark Infringement? Yes.
There are many brands that have leaked into our vernacular and are accepted as “real” words. QTips, Kleenex, Coke, and even the Crapper (A porceline toilet was created by John Crapper. Taking a crap came from his name. How’s that for a legacy?)
Oscars is not one of those words. Oscar means the award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I don’t see how they can diminish this word’s value to an adjective and have it still mean AWARD. Irony.
Oscar is a name. And anyone can use it.
But to refer to an awards ceremony as an Oscar is a direct use of the name for the intended purpose of drawing comparisons to the MPAA.
You cannot use it for that.
Oscar is just a name and nothing else. Everyone can use it!
Trump wanted “your fired” trademarked, not copyrighted.
He also wouldnt be able to collect royalties for someone saying “your fired” to another person any more than artists can collect royalties every time someone sings along to a song on the radio.
He simply didnt want other reality shows using the phrase to evict failed contestants. It has become his phrase on The Apprentice, just as “voted off the island” is synonymous with Survivor.
Just for one for something odd, you should never ask for a cola if you are in any Hispanic or Latino area. Cola translates to butt, and coca refers to cocaine. People there ask specifically for a coke or coca-cola or they just say Pepsi. Just be safe and ask for a soda, but I guess that wasn’t really the point of this whole post. I have to agree that you can’t just start slapping copy-rights to phrasing. Nothing more ridiculous than when Donald Trump tried to get “you’re fired” copywrited. Can you imagine these factories have to pay royalties to Donald every time they accidently let those words slip to an employer. Also, any time a movie is made they are paid to include products in their movie, they don’t have to pay for the products. It’s semi-cheap advertising. Or they must get permission to quote titles(such as movies), but they may be able to get away with not having permission if they correctly attribute the film at the end of the credits. But then again, I’m not in the business and will bow down to someone who has more knowledge in this subject.
The Super Bowl is the same way – there was a story a few months back (at the time of the Super Bowl) where a church was going to have a fund raiser Super Bowl party and the NFL stepped in and said they couldn’t use the term Super Bowl as it is trademarked – – they also have crazy rules about the number of people and the size of the television that can be used before it breaks the rules and is considered “illegal”.
I just watched an independent COPYRIGHTED film called “Drop Box” – check it on IMDb.com. The whole thing takes place in a video store. There are countless shots of hundreds of films. You can easily read the titles and logos from each flick. They’re not blurred out or deleted. IN fact, they mention about 100 titles by name (Shawshank, Battlefield Earth, Boondock Saints, etc etc etc). I don’t know for sure, but I can say with about 99% certainty they didn’t pay for any of these mentions.
“I wasnt aware you could sue people from one country to the next.”
Normally you cant. There is a great deal of hokey Turkish films that blatantly rip off segments of film or soundtracks and Hollywood can’t do anything about it.
The problem is that this stuff is being broadcast on networks that cater to the Italian speaking population of North America. So they crossed the line.
I wasnt aware you could sue people from one country to the next…I guess that shows how ignorant I am!!! I think it is a load of horse shit. Who gives a fuck…if Italy wants to do it then let them do it. I love to watch the brazilian equivelent of the playboy channel HERE IN AMERICA and they even have playboy shit on there sometimes…should i contact Hef and let him know so we can go sue Brazil together.
what about hoover referring to a vacuum cleaner.
When a product is specifically identified by a character, yes that is a product placement. But it works the other way around when a movie WANTS to use a product.
The pixelling of logos tends to happen in reality shows. They didnt intend to promote a specific product, nor were they paid to. So they blur it out.
As far as the Coke/Pepsi argument goes, I said its silly to outright REFUSE one over the other. I didn’t say it was wrong to PREFER one over the other. I prefer Coke. Does that mean if a restaurant only offers Pepsi that I should turn my nose up? No.
“Product Trademarks are very well guarded and protected. You cannot use a product in a movie or tv show without paying royalties to the trademark owner. This is why in reality TV shows you see logos on shirts and hats pixelled out. They don’t want to pay.”
What!? So you’re telling me that the studios in Casino Royale (or any other ridiculously commercial laden films – iRobot anyone?) PAID for product placement in their movie? I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure the product companies paid the studio. So I think you’ve got it backward on that point. I guarantee MGM didn’t pay for Craig to say “thanks, it an Omega wristwatch” for absolutely no reason. Omega paid MGM to be put in the film. It’s called advertising.
Agreed, in some cases, if a smaller (indie) film or TV show wants to put something (especially music or another image of a movie) they might have to pay. But I guaran-fuckin-tee that “Survivor” (the ultimate reality show) does not pay Pontiac to put Aztecs in their show. Pontiac pays THEM. But I’ll watch for the “pixeling” out of logos. I’ve never noticed it before. If I do notice it, it’s because it is something obscene. Not a product.
Secondly, it’s only in certain parts of the country where someone says coke and they mean whatever cola they happen to have at the restaurant. When I say Coke, I MEAN COKE! Not Tab or Pepsi or Shasta. “There are some absurd souls who cannot stand the other brand despite their similarities, but thats just silly.” – Sorry, but Coke is way better in my opinion, while Pepsi is better in others’ opinion. I don’t think it’s silly to prefer one over the other. Which do you like better? Armageddon or Deep Impact? They’re very similar, so if you like one and not the other, that’s silly?
Funny how I didn’t even address the Oscar thing in this comment.
Pepsi kicks the shit out of coke.
WTF….
i hate pepsi and coke, of course i talk to their vendors every fucking day….so that might be why…..
“The point is, we call it Coke. Its not Coke, its cola. A type of soda pop. But we say Coke. But in a movie if someone says “Get me a Coke” its instantly product placement that must be paid for. WHY? Because its a trademarked name and they cannot use it unless its been paid for. ”
When they and if they pay, do they pay both Pepsi and Coca-Cola, because if they dont then that isnt right because Pepsi is coke and Coca-Cola coke…..KINDA GAY if you ask me
Don’t forget “Band-Aid”..a brand name, accepted as “real” words
I hate Pepsi. I always get water if the restaurant doesn’t have Coke. I want a Coke dammit not “cola”.
Don’t forget Jell-O, Fiberglass, Rollerblade, Band-aid, escalator, linoleum, Walkman, Xerox, Zamboni, styroform, aspirin and soon Google.
We’re not talking about a logo.
I’ve never heard a trademarked name “bleeped” on a reality show.
Thats the thing with being 99.9% sure. It means you are 0.1% completely wrong.
Product Trademarks are very well guarded and protected. You cannot use a product in a movie or tv show without paying royalties to the trademark owner. This is why in reality TV shows you see logos on shirts and hats pixelled out. They don’t want to pay.
If you see a product mentioned in a movie, you bet your ass someone got paid for it.
Some Guy,
I am Canadian. And we do respect trademarks here as well.
I’m confused by some of your points. I’m 99.9% sure you can say “Coke” or any other trademarked term on TV or in a movie without paying to just say the word.
The idea that a studio has to pay Coke to say “Coke” in a movie sounds absurd. What are you basing this on?
Respect Trademarks? Rodney must not be Canadian.
Just kidding, John! :P