Where is the alternative coverart that has been made by a member himself (1 Viewer)

[Jeff_HR]

At the request of several members we have decided to open this new area to the forum for those members that either want to discuss current coverart of a DVD or display alternative coverart that has been made by a member.

Please be sure to read our disclaimer regarding the posting of coverart in this area. If there is ever a question about the copyright issue of any coverart raised we will remove the thread involved.

I notice that there seems to be no threads in this section yet that feature alternative coverart that has been made by a member himself. That does not surprise me considering the last sentence in the quote above. For example, there is a site called Dvdcoverart.com that features alternative coverart that has been made by a great many persons. I would guess that an overwhelming majority of the coverart from that site could not be posted here. Because unless it was created 100% from scratch it fails the test of acceptability put forth in the quote above. Most of the coverart from Dvdcoverart.com "borrows" from copyrighted material to some degree, whether it it large or tiny. (PS - this is not meant as a slam at Matt's site)

I'd post some alternative coverart that I did, but it would fail the test, so I will save myself from getting it deleted and not post it. Just my 6¢ worth.

 

[TheLongshot]

It sounds like, "if someone makes a stink about a posting due to copyright issues, we will remove it." There hasn't been a problem in the past with threads getting deleted with alternative cover art. (DAD, Murder By Death, etc.)

Jason

 

[Parker Clack]

Cover art has been posted on this site for years. All we are saying is that if you want to post alternate coverart that you have made that you post it on this forum with the knowledge that if a company tells us to remove it from our site we will. And that author of the cover art assumes all responsibility for the display of the cover art they have made up.

If you look throughout this forum area you will see all kinds of cover art that has been made up by another member. In fact there is a link for Star Trek DVD coverart at the top of the forum area that takes you to all kinds of cover art that was made up.

Parker

 

[Nelson Au]

This is an interesting topic. The idea of what constitutes copyright material and public domain for the purpose of creating customized artwork for DVD covers. And what an owner of the copyright material will or will not do.

I know that when the producers of Futurama were creating the spoof of Star Trek TOS, they were very specific about what they could do and not do. For example, they could not make the uniform or bridge design exact, it had to be altered slightly, which they did.

So if I wanted to do my own coverart for Star Trek TOS, if there are pictures of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy or the Star Trek logo is used, I would think that if the art has somewhere a disclaimer that it is a Paramount copyright, it's okay? But what if there is a picture of the cast members that has been used for years as publicity stills, is that public domain?

I know from personal experience, I created a computer generated image of a real product with the logo, and my buddy who works for the company that makes the product told me that if I publish that image on the web, then I have to take the logo off. I did publish the image on the website of the CAD software I use in their gallery and I'm okay. As the author of that image, I believe I own it. If someone wants to use, then I have the right to say yes or no.

I think though the main issue would be that it is stated on the artist's website that the cover artwork is not for sale, but for individual and private use. And the owner of the copyright is the issue, ( Paramount for example) he could let it slide or want you to remove the artwork if he feels your art is infringing on his ability to collect income from that image. Or the site could potentially confuse the consumer who really owns the artwork. I'm not a lawyer, but I guess only the owner can generate income from the art or has the right to let someone else use it after they agree to terms.

My confused 2 cents.