Originally posted by alebeard42
There is indeed a difference between stealing some product and its fair use, this is where copyright fails in my opinion

what about a package of cigerttes
Do I have the right to use the products I have already paid for?
Ale
Ale, that's an interesting related topic, but it doesn't involve "intellectual property". Your films and photo shoots would come under the category of "intellectual property"; you certainly don't want people to appropriate them without your permission, do you?

The trademark issue shares some of the same concerns; I doubt that companies go to great lengths to protect against the incidental use of their product -- we've all seen automobiles, scenes of the Las Vegas strip, and so forth in porno films. But if you were to emphasize the product (by repeatedly zooming in on a clothing logo, for example, or a soft drink, or a brand of cigarettes, you could run into problems. Companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to craft a certain image for their products; not hard to understand why they would want to protect it from association with the likes of us. ;-)

As far as the music goes -- that is intellectual property. You can use it, but you have to pay royalties. Have you heard waiters/waitresses sing the traditional "Happy Birthday to you" song in restaurants lately? I haven't -- because a while back the holders of the copyright on that song began demanding royalties on its use. So if you take someone out to a restaurant that is part of a national chain and tip off the staff that it's your guest's birthday, the staff typically will serenade you with some home-made birthday greetings. (I believe that the waiters/waitresses are apparently permitted to join in if someone at the table begins the traditional song.)

Boccaccio