Imageline, Inc. Trademark Infringement Again!

George, you little scamp, you really have been a very naughty boy again!

IMAGELINE, INC. TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT #2

Please don't tell us you didn't know the Sydney Opera House is protected by the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia, including copyright law?

Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the Sydney Opera House.

Here's what Caroline Ang, Corporate Counsel at the Sydney Opera House has to say (quote):

“The SOH brand is a very powerful brand and is well recognised all around the world. This means that the brand is one of the most important assets of the Sydney Opera House Trust. The Sydney Opera House Trust manages the use of Sydney Opera House’s image and brand on behalf of the New South Wales Government. The Trust vigorously protects the commercial exploitation of its intellectual property and does not approve use of the SOH brand in commercial contexts where there is no association between the relevant business and SOH.

The Trust does this for two reasons - first - to protect the integrity of the brand and second, to protect its commercial value. As a non-profit arts organisation, the Trust is heavily reliant on sponsorships to support its operations and it offers brand association to sponsors of a certain value. In all cases however a sponsor is only permitted to link its product with the SOH brand in a manner that is approved by SOH and which aligns with SOH brand values.

We hope that you can appreciate that our image and exclusivity are our most valuable assets commercially, so it is important that we protect them for ourselves and our valued sponsors.

Images of SOH may be used by the media but not for advertising or other commercial uses.”

So George, are you absolutely SURE the image you've produced has never been sold for commercial use? In fact, there isn't one single mention of commercial restriction within the Imageline, Inc. Terms of Service. We don't even see an image licensing agreement. How odd!

Would it be fair to say that SOH have the absolute right to know ALL your customers and licensed distributors worldwide, audit ALL your accounts and claim compensation settlements of say, $3000 for each and every image you've sold of their property?

Maybe we'll just ask Ms. Ang. We're sure she'll be interested.

HOW DOES IT FEEL?