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    Sims Copyright Laws....using the name Sims on products

    TheonaTheona Posts: 27
    in The Sims 3 General Discussion
    I wonder, if I was to create a T-Shirt using http://teespring.com and I used the following phrase:

    Do you ever just get up
    from your PC to walk
    aimlessly around your
    houseonly to sit back
    down in front of
    the PC again?

    *whispers* we're all Sims

    Would that be against Copyright laws since the word Sims is being used?

    The reason I ask is I have a LOT of Simmer friends who LOVE this quote and would like to see it on a T-Shirt.

    Would it also be against Copyright Laws if I placed a Plumbob on the back of the shirt??

    I am 100% serious and am not really sure who I can ask this to.

    Comments

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      ceejay402ceejay402 Posts: 24,507 Member
      edited April 2014
      in general you can recreate trademarked/copy righted material for personal use but not for selling. so you could make a shirt for yourself but you cant sell it
    • Options
      TheonaTheona Posts: 27
      edited April 2014
      Thats what I thought, I was just curious because this TeeSpring site is cool, I mean yes I would make $2 from every t-shirt I designed sold. But the only way to get my own t-shirt that I make is to sell them also, kinda sucks. I just wasn't sure if it was against CopyRight laws to simply use the word Sims. I see people make and sell Sims stuff all the time. Custom Content, Merchandise etc so I was not really sure.
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      ceejay402ceejay402 Posts: 24,507 Member
      edited April 2014
      im not aware of anyone selling sims. anytime a cc site asks for money its always in form of a donation

      and technically i dont think a t shirt co could mass produce for u protected logo and words
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      TreyNutzTreyNutz Posts: 5,780 Member
      edited April 2014
      I think the issue is more trademark than copyright. If you go to the USPTO (that's the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) and search for "the sims" you see EA has trademarked several variations. Searching for just "sims" brings up a lot of hits, many having nothing to do with this game.

      I have no idea how aggressive EA is about this sort of thing. If you gave the shirts away as gifts you might not have much to worry about. On the other hand if EA thinks your quote is somehow damaging their trademark you could have a lawsuit on your hands.
      TreyNutz's Blog
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      SimmervilleSimmerville Posts: 11,673 Member
      edited May 2015
      I'm bringing up this old thread, because subject ir related.

      I love making art-ish screenshots from my ts3 game. Could I use those images (say a nice scenary/view not focusing on one specific object from the game), say on a t-shirt, without running into copyright/trademark? If there is no ts3 logo and no use of the sim word?

      I run several stories on my sim blog, and for some of them I created a icon, would I be allowed to print them on t-shirts to sell? I'll probaby be the only customer, LOL, just wonder if it would be legal. Credits would of course need to be given in the item's description.

      Example (would take out the last line):
      hopeterra-256x256.jpg
      Simmerville on Youtube | My blog is updated weekly: Simmerville's Sims<br>a.jpg
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      boguczed1boguczed1 Posts: 170 Member
      You could always make the shirts and ask for a donation of you design it at a Not for Profit.
    • Options
      igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
      edited May 2015
      I work for a (charitable) nonprofit. We have to follow the same rules as everyone else when it comes to other entities' intellectual property. It doesn't really matter what the motive of marketing such things are once one gets beyond personal use and enjoyment.

      In the case of @Simmerville 's example, EA would have to prove that the design dilutes or damages the integrity of their product name in order to have a successful claim or demand that you stop. That would be quite a stretch in that case and (please don't take this as legal advice as I am not an attorney) probably not worthy of them even considering taking any action on. But large companies have in the past taken odd and unexpected measures in this regard.

      Perhaps the best strategy would be to ask someone at EA first?
      o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
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      SimmervilleSimmerville Posts: 11,673 Member
      Thanks for the input! I'll leave the idea for now. There wouldn't have been any sales anyway, I guess, it would be mostly for the fun of it. But putting it up for sale is probably the same as selling, law wise.
      Simmerville on Youtube | My blog is updated weekly: Simmerville's Sims<br>a.jpg
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