AVATARS and USERNAMES ... what's going on?

[CleanSump]

Mine's just the eggshells left from making breakfast one day during the egg shortage. It's art I created!

 

[wwillson]

So, for instance, I take a pic holding a WIX filter in my hand, with the logo clearly visible, I'm OK as long as I, or even my hand, is the main portion of the pic? But a straight up WIX filter with logo is not?

Likely yes.

 

[SShooterZ]

Likely yes.

OK good to know. Still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but that's not unusual.

 

[Astro14]

Mine was taken down because apparently my picture (an oil filter) cannot be the sole subject of an avatar photo.

Because that is not your brand.

You don’t have the right to that company’s image, logo, or product.

 

[TiGeo]

 

[PF52]

Because that is not your brand.

You don’t have the right to that company’s image, logo, or product.

The rules say we CAN include the logo on photos we have taken personally.

 

[K-Man]

rstcso said:
If a company has bots scouring the internet to find non-compliance and getting a commission on what they find, is it not possible, or likely, those same companies are creating accounts on a websites such as BITOG using knowingly copyright infringement avatars?

If they got caught, and they would, they would be in serious trouble.

A situation not unlike this came up on some men's forums years ago. People opposed to the men's political and societal viewpoints would set up accounts on one of those forums. Once in, they deliberately made posts with threats, advocation of violence, and generally offensive content in violation of the host's rules. Then, before the forum admins realized what was happening, the new "members" reported their own posts to the host as examples of bad things happening on the forum. Result: the host ended and wiped the entire forum, so it didn't exist any more. Of course, nothing happened to the culprits.

Similarly, bad actors are certainly capable of opening accounts to use copyrighted material as avatars and then causing trouble over that material to get a commission, with no consequence to them. If BITOG is gone, who would be left to press the issue? The recent problems with bots overwhelming certain open forums might have been a harbinger.

Maybe the solution is to close BITOG to the public so that members must log in to view anything. We would still need a process for accepting new members, but this would at least handle the bot problem.

 

[Hall]

It's no different than taking a picture of a gas station sign that is the subject of the photo, then using it as your avatar. We don't own the copyright of the name "Mobil", "Shell" or "Circle K" for example.

Legally, I don't believe this is a copyright violation, but that said, you make the rules. Even if it's allowed, it would still cost $$$ to fight any suits brought by those money-grabbing lawyers.

 

[Hall]

the easy solution would be to eliminate all outside avatars and provide a selection to chose from

I've seen that at some places and in almost all cases, the logos were so lame, I'd prefer to do without.

View attachment 311057

Can I steal it ? Errr, I mean can I license this from you for my own personal usage ? We can discuss details via PM.

 

[K-Man]

The rules say we CAN include the logo on photos we have taken personally.

Also, in posts we regularly use manufacturer's names, model numbers, etc. If someone says he has a question or a problem with his Toyota or Ford, does that post get censored or deleted because "Toyota" or "Ford" is a trademark? My point is that the fear can be taken too far to everyone's detriment.

 

[Propflux01]

Also, in posts we regularly use manufacturer's names, model numbers, etc. If someone says he has a question or a problem with his Toyota or Ford, does that post get censored or deleted because "Toyota" or "Ford" is a trademark? My point is that the fear can be taken too far to everyone's detriment.

Ferd and Toyata.

 

[AZjeff]

Those arguing about this forum's policy need to review copyright and TM law and decide if their opinion is valid. It sounds like the forum is taking the advice of a lawyer. BITOG has to err on the side of caution when there's the possibility of a fine.

 

[rstsco]

Can I steal it ? Errr, I mean can I license this from you for my own personal usage ? We can discuss details via PM.

Just change the font. If you really want to be safe, change the color, also.

 

[hemioiler]

The rules say we CAN include the logo on photos we have taken personally.

At a certain point you just have to let it go and pick a new avatar; is it that important to you to have that specific image or can you find something else in < 5 mins and carry on.

So my avatar is my truck, it has a Ram logo but its clearly "my" truck, license plate on the front is registered to me so this should be perfectly acceptable.

 

[RazorsEdge]

I've got a friend who works for the federal government and therefore knows how lawyers work in and out of the courts.

As busy as the court system is, this would most likely be laughed out of the courthouse.

 

[Hall]

does that post get censored or deleted because "Toyota" or "Ford" is a trademark?

Ford™ or Toyota™

 

[Hall]

Just change the font. If you really want to be safe, change the color, also.

It was a joke....

 

[CleanSump]

I remember a bunch of movies and TV shows about Africa made in the 70s where vehicles running around in the country safari lands were all "OYOT" when another company had paid for advertising a different brand of vehicle. We laughed about it a lot. Like you will only see Pontiacs on My Three Sons or Coke in TV shows where the company paid for the sponsorship placement.
My wife watches a TV series where the cops snack on Eurocakes in every episode. Money, not Elvis or Charles is king.

 

[burbguy82]

Changed from a rainbow, randomly selected from the interweb.....to the American flag........

@wwillson I copied your avatar, now you can sue yourself?.....wait, let me rethink this.......did you say your daughter made this avatar? WOW, serious skills, but we will have to have the documentation uploaded

 

[dogememe]

I've got a friend who works for the federal government and therefore knows how lawyers work in and out of the courts.

As busy as the court system is, this would most likely be laughed out of the courthouse.

I don't want to be rude, but that doesn't matter. I don't think you understand anything about this. It takes time and money to handle this stuff, even if you ultimately end up winning, or it gets thrown out.

Keep in mind that most forums lose money every month, and are often more a labor of love than a profitable business. I don't know about the financials or people behind BITOG, but forums are resource intensive (database driven AND lots of storage for attachments is double trouble) and this site isn't absolutely riddled with ads and sponsorships like some sites are.

Source: Founded and staffed various forums for many years. Migrated several large forums for clients over the years. Web developer 10+ years.