Bungie Universe
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  • Subject: Can I be sued by Bungie for...
Subject: Can I be sued by Bungie for...

"On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons."

Would Bungie sue me if I made a Halo themed poster and sold it?

I'm a photography hobbyist and I recently took a photo of my Mark VI helmet from the Halo 3 Legendary Edition laying on the ground and sort of looking towards the sky. On the photo, I put the words "Remember Reach."

Do you think Bungie would sue me for Copyright infringement if I sold this photo as a poster? I've already had several inquiries and I'm really thinking about selling it. What do you think?

  • 11.25.2010 11:19 PM PDT

Why are you wasting your time reading this you already know im AWSOME

yes

[Edited on 11.25.2010 11:34 PM PST]

  • 11.25.2010 11:28 PM PDT

Brains beats brawn get used to it

Fear the Red Comet

Variety is the spice of life.
Long live games.
Death to all fanboys.

If Microsoft caught you, then yes you'd be sued if you took their IP and made money off of it without going through official channels to get the proper licenses to sell it.

  • 11.25.2010 11:29 PM PDT

"On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons."

Why'd you change your mind?

  • 11.25.2010 11:41 PM PDT

Before you could sell it yes you would have to contact Bungie and ask. They would probably tell you to give them credit like a copyright at the footnote space and besides i don't think such a big business like Bungie would care unless it went crazy and sold a ton. I think of it as like being a TV advertisement where they use snippets from movies if you watch, normally there is a little footnote giving credit to that movie. the safest thing would be to ask (which is what i would do)

  • 11.26.2010 12:40 AM PDT

Brains beats brawn get used to it

Fear the Red Comet

Variety is the spice of life.
Long live games.
Death to all fanboys.


Posted by: ObviouslyTDog
Before you could sell it yes you would have to contact Bungie and ask. They would probably tell you to give them credit like a copyright at the footnote space and besides i don't think such a big business like Bungie would care unless it went crazy and sold a ton. I think of it as like being a TV advertisement where they use snippets from movies if you watch, normally there is a little footnote giving credit to that movie. the safest thing would be to ask (which is what i would do)


Keep in mind, Microsoft owns the Halo IP, not Bungie.

  • 11.26.2010 12:53 AM PDT
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  • Fabled Mythic Member

Posted by: Shishka
Everything will be gone long before me. When the first living thing was born, I was here, waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job is finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave.

Yup, you could be sued by MS. A general rule of thumb is, if money is involved, don't go there.

You could just give the poster away and there'd be no problem.

  • 11.26.2010 1:28 AM PDT

yes you could get sued
chances are slim you'd make enough money for MS to care to track you down,
if its edited and photo-shopped then your in a gray area of the law because its now become your art. but if its a screen-shot you could always go through official channels and just by a printed version of the screen shot and sell that or have the people looking to buy it do the same.

  • 11.26.2010 8:36 AM PDT

"On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons."

I guess I should clear up that I didn't just snap a photo and print it.

The photo was moderately edited. I changed the exposure, the levels, added some filters and changed a few colors to where they seem bolder and then added the words "Remember Reach."

So yes, technically it is my work. The thing I'm worried about is that it has a Mark VI helmet as the subject of the photo and the words "Remember Reach." I know I technically can't be sued for the words as long as I use a different font than the one they used for the advertisements so I'm pretty sure I'm good on that one.

However, would the helmet still ensure a lawsuit? I think that since I bought the helmet, it is rightfully MY property.

  • 11.26.2010 1:18 PM PDT
  • gamertag: Gofrel
  • user homepage:

This is a stupid question.

Of course you will be sued or shut down.

What a stupid question, you are making money from someone elses ideas without their consent.

Really? You even had to ask this?

  • 11.26.2010 2:37 PM PDT

"On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons."

What a stupid answer. It wasn't their idea. The games and the armor was their idea.

The photo and all the work put into it was MY idea.

What a stupid answer.

Really? You even had to say that?

Besides, like that other guy said; if I don't make a ridiculous amount from it, they'll never know, right? And what they don't know won't hurt them.

[Edited on 11.26.2010 2:46 PM PST]

  • 11.26.2010 2:45 PM PDT
  • gamertag: Gofrel
  • user homepage:

Stupid answer?

They created the helmer and armour, and the motif Remember Reach.

Thus they own all images of the armour and helmet, and Remember Reach.

If I take a photo of the Mona Lisa, make it black and white and paint MONA LISA
at the bottom if it, is it suddenly my art?

No. It is not.

You are taking an image of something they own and selling it, regardless of how much you shop it. As it is still recognizable as Microsoft IP, it is illegal and you shall be sued and shut down.

Idiot.

  • 11.26.2010 2:53 PM PDT

I do not fear death, in view of the fact that I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it. ~ Mark Twain

It's simple, do it in a back-alley way. You aren't mass-producing them, how on Earth will you get caught?

  • 11.26.2010 3:15 PM PDT

Maybe not.. I dont think master chiefs helmet is trademarked but if you used the Halo 1,2, or 3 emblems, those are trademarked.

[Edited on 11.26.2010 3:42 PM PST]

  • 11.26.2010 3:41 PM PDT

"On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons."

Dude, shut the hell up.

I have researched it and technically, if you take a picture of the Mona Lisa and greyscale it then YES, it IS YOUR WORK. Why? Because you took a PHOTO OF IT with YOUR CAMERA.

Plus, The Chief's armor IS NOT COPYRIGHT PROTECTED SO NO I CAN'T GET IN TROUBLE!

They may have come up with "Remember Reach" but THEY CAN'T SUE ME FOR IT BECAUSE IT'S IN A DIFFERENT TYPEFONT!

Idiot.
Posted by: Gofrel
Stupid answer?

They created the helmer and armour, and the motif Remember Reach.

Thus they own all images of the armour and helmet, and Remember Reach.

If I take a photo of the Mona Lisa, make it black and white and paint MONA LISA
at the bottom if it, is it suddenly my art?

No. It is not.

You are taking an image of something they own and selling it, regardless of how much you shop it. As it is still recognizable as Microsoft IP, it is illegal and you shall be sued and shut down.

Idiot.

  • 11.26.2010 9:54 PM PDT