Is this legal?

[Alex(PlayMedium)]

So my school-bag broke and I need a new one, and I found this one where you can put your own picture on it.

Now, I want to have them print the Aperture science Logo on there:

http://prntscr.com/1b58re

 

Is this legal or could I get sued by Valve?

[Mac]

I'm pretty sure it is legal, there's loads of unofficial merch for other things.

[felixbearpig]

they arnt going to sue one person for one bag

[joelthezombie15]

They are not going to sue one person as @felixbearpig said but technically on a large scale it is unlicensed merch. but you will be fine.

[Bleedman0xx]

If Valve asks, just tell them it's a knock-off of the Chase Bank logo.

[Volbet]

It is legal as long as you don't make money of it

[FireFox]

Since you are not claiming ownership of the logo and you're not selling bags using their logo then I'd say it's perfectly legal, I'm no law expert but that is what I think.

[Coombzy]

Probably not I have printed loads of unlicensed things if anything its the company printing that would get into trouble but that rarely ever happens.

[Scia]

Why are you guys always afraid srsly. As long as you don't sell the objects you printed with a logo that isn't yours, there is no problem.

[Bleedman0xx]

It is legal as long as you don't make money of it

The company making the backpack is making money off it though. It may be legal for him but not for the company making the backpack for him.

[Jay123]

It's kinda free advertising and I doubt a big company like Valve would even bother to sue one person over a bag.

[FireFox]

The company making the backpack is making money off it though. It may be legal for him but not for the company making the backpack for him.

 

But it's the companies responsibility to know the law, also they probably have a license agreement with Valve and if not well that is their problem lol

[naca1227]

The company making the backpack is making money off it though. It may be legal for him but not for the company making the backpack for him.

How would the company making the backpacks be making money off of it? It was already purchased..

[911^NEmeSis]

I think as long as you don't make money out of it you are fine :D

[Volbet]

The company making the backpack is making money off it though. It may be legal for him but not for the company making the backpack for him.

And that is the grey area of this case. Atleast where I live it is legal to make a third party logo on a backpack, mousepad ect. as long as you don't market the product exclusivly with that logo. 

[Bleedman0xx]

But it's the companies responsibility to know the law, also they probably have a license agreement with Valve and if not well that is their problem lol

The problem is these companies are likely totally unaware of who owns what when it comes to printing logos and such on there merc. Especially with logo as ambiguous as the Aperture Science logo.

[FireFox]

The problem is these companies are likely totally unaware of who owns what when it comes to printing logos and such on there merc. Especially with logo as ambiguous as the Aperture Science logo.

 

But if they specialize in printing then they should know or certainly have the brain power to find who owns the logo.

 

If they are specialists in this field then they should know the legal aspect as well and if not then they shouldn't be operating, just my opinion :)

[Bleedman0xx]

How would the company making the backpacks be making money off of it? It was already purchased..

We're talking about logo printing companies specifically. The company lists items such as bags and other crap, allows you to upload an image of what picture/logo you'd like printed on the merchandise and then sells it to you. Is this difficult to grasp?

[naca1227]

Okay I am going to be very clear and simple.

 

It is not illegal to put a logo on something. I can be a clay artist. I am a freelancer, people tell me what to sculpt, my client wants a Gordon Freeman sculpture; and I sculpt what he tells me to sculpt and he pays me for it. That is legal. As long as you are not sculpting something beforehand and selling it, you will be FINE.

 

A company can't sue a person who made a PC mod of their product. If a guy asks someone to mod their PC and put a logo on it, that's legal. All in all, I don't want to be mean but no company will give two shits about what you put on your backpack.

[Skyfire]

It's not illegal, and it'll be perfectly fine for you. I wouldn't recommend walking through a Valve corporation building with the bag though or befriend someone whose father is the CEO of Valve though.

[Bleedman0xx]

But if they specialize in printing then they should know or certainly have the brain power to find who owns the logo.

 

If they are specialists in this field then they should know the legal aspect as well and if not then they shouldn't be operating, just my opinion :)

Most of these printing companies are not specialists in any way other than being told how to work the machines and package the items. You'd think that these kind of companies would go the extra mile to research about the picture/logo that was submitted for an order. Some do, but most don't. And those that don't were just in it for the money to begin with. And making money is always a good business strategy.

[Scia]

The company making the backpack is making money off it though. It may be legal for him but not for the company making the backpack for him.

 

No it's not illegal for the company. They are not printing them and selling them with the logo, they print what you order and therefore do not need a license for it.

And FFS all these "is this illegal" threads -.- Just download that fucking rom / logo / movie or what ever. As if they were going to storm your house because you downloaded a rom -.- paranoid much?

[naca1227]

We're talking about logo printing companies specifically. The company lists items such as bags and other crap, allows you to upload an image of what picture/logo you'd like printed on the merchandise and then sells it to you. Is this difficult to grasp?

I meant to say, the company made the backpack and have their clients tell them what to put on it. As long as they don't put aperture science logo's on it and then sell them.

[virusal19]

No, there is nothing illegal about this, as long as you do not make any money or claim any ownership of this, you will be fine.

[naca1227]

Most of these printing companies are not specialists in any way other than being told how to work the machines and package the items. You'd think that these kind of companies would go the extra mile to research about the picture/logo that was submitted for an order. Some do, but most don't. And those that don't were just in it for the money to begin with. And making money is always a good business strategy.

It wouldn't matter if they researched what it was anyways, it's legal.