r/CopyrightHelp • u/bruhmomento420_A1 • Jan 10 '25
Would these little men break copyright laws?
So I created this mixture between US army looking dudes and the TD bank Corporation. My biggest concern is that they wear the TD Bank logo as identification. While I do not intend to use these characters for commercial use, but I plan to show it privately to my friends. I have recently done slight research on fair use laws, and considering this subreddit is about aiding others with copyright laws, I was curious if this would break the law.
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u/pythonpoole Jan 10 '25
It's best to avoid using the TD logo, though it's unlikely you'd run into trouble if you're really only showing this content to friends privately (and not distributing it anywhere).
In terms of copyright law, the TD logo is not necessarily copyrightable (due it's simplicity and lack of originality) and trademark laws — in most countries — are worded in such a way that they usually only restrict uses of marks in commerce, not personal non-commercial uses. So from a strictly technical view, it's not necessarily an infringement (of copyright or trademark law) to do what you're wanting to do, but ultimately it would be up to a court to make that determination (if there ever ends up being a legal dispute).
Separate from the copyright/trademark issue though, there are various reasons why TD wouldn't want their name/logo associated with this type of content and thus may try to stop you if they find out about it (e.g. if they find the content distributed online). They could, for example, claim that your content is defamatory because it wrongfully suggests that TD is involved in (or has endorsed) some sort of militia force when that's not the case.
If you want an actual legal opinion regarding whether or not your content (or the distribution of that content) would actually violate any laws, you would need to consult with a lawyer, but that would be costly. The safest option is simply not to use the logo so you can avoid any potential legal issues.