It begs the question if it is illegal to use brand names and logos without their owner’s permission? And if not, then what are the other reasons why brand names and logos are blurred in such cases?

A lot of movies, TV shows, or music videos blur out, remove or cover out the logos or brand names of certain companies when they appear on screen. This is known as product displacement. 

Have you ever wondered why do they do this? Is it illegal to use someone’s brand name, logo or other creative work without their permission? 

Well, you might be surprised to know the answer. Let’s find out.

The brand names and logos of a company are its trademark. A trademark is intended to be used for identifying and distinguishing the product or service of one seller from the product or service of the other sellers. 

Having a registered trademark doesn’t empower the trademark owner to censor the films, or TV shows, which might just happen to include real-world products in their scene. 

Therefore, it is not unlawful to use the images of a product of a certain brand in films or TV shows, even if the brand name or logo of that product is visible in the scene. No permission is required from such company prior to using products in the scene.

When it may become illegal?

Using the images of a certain product showcasing its brand name or logo might become illegal if such use creates confusion in the mind of the viewers. For example, one cannot showcase an Apple brand logo on a non-Apple product. 

As now we know that it is not illegal to use the trademarks without the owner’s prior permission, it’s imperative to understand why the films, TV shows, or music videos still blur out some brand names and logos from their scenes.  

The real reasons why product displacement takes place:

1. Producers are cautious 

Even though it is not illegal to use the brand names of the real-life products in the creative work such as movies, TV shows, and music videos, the producers however, are very cautious in such situations. Especially, the films or TV shows that run on a very tight budget, the producers are often wary of getting into any sort of legal trouble in the future. 

The Jay and Tony Show blurred Louis Vuitton logos

On one of the episodes of a TV show The Jay and Tony Show, Jay and Tony talked about the need to blur the logo of the underwear company and said, “We had to blur those Louis Vuitton logos on his little short underwear because they could have seen it and said, you’re messing with our brand.”

Therefore, even though it is legal to show the brand name or logo in the scene, such producers often want to avoid getting into the legal battles, which might prove extremely expensive and time consuming. 

2. Commercial interests

Today, in the digital age, digital advertisement has become a great source of income for producers of the film, TV shows, and music videos. 

Whenever they are including the product or service of a particular brand in their creative work, they are in one way advertising the product of that brand amongst its viewers. 

And a lot of producers often expect the brands to pay for such advertisement. But, when the brands refuse to sponsor or pay for such inclusion, the producers often blur out or remove the logo of the brand from its products.   

When you can do something for money, why do it for free?

3. Meeting the demands of sponsors

A lot of times, the production houses, TV channels, a particular TV show or film is often already sponsored by some brands. Therefore, the producers or production houses are wary of not disappointing the sponsors by showcasing the product of a rival brand. 

For instance, suppose a fitness reality TV show is sponsored by the fitness supplement brand NutraTech; the show would not showcase any product of the rival brand Big Muscles Nutrition.  

Similarly, if a TV channel is getting a lot of their advertisement from, say, auto-major BMW, the TV shows on such channel would avoid showing  the rival auto brands, such as Audi, Mercedes, etc., in an attempt to avoid  annoying the sponsor (i.e. BMW) who is paying for majority for its advertisement on the channel. 

4. Copyrighted Work

There are certain creative works of an individual or a company, which enjoys the protection of copyright, for instance, music, architecture, poetry, etc. And unlike the brand names or logos, which require registration, the creative work that comes within the scope of copyright, automatically gets shielded by its protection requiring the prior permission of the owner before its use.

Therefore, if such art, music, poetry etc. are displayed or used in films, or TV shows, without the prior permission of their owner, that would lead to infringement of the copyright. 

The producers could end up paying hefty amount of compensation for infringement on the filling of the lawsuit by the copyright owner.

Conclusion

While it is certainly not illegal to use trademarked products in the visual media by films, TV shows, and music videos, they often resort to product displacement, for a number of reasons, ranging from ‘avoiding the legal battles’ to ‘not wanting to annoy a sponsor’. 

However, using a piece of work which enjoys copyright protection  without the permission of the owner amounts  to infringement of copyright. It is considered to be illegal (unless the same warrants ‘fair use’).  

Therefore, the producers ought to be more cautious while using a copyrighted product in their visual media, than they are while using a trademarked product.