Charlie Sheen is an F18.

[CabrioPunk]

Anyone spot the AWII E30 (vert I think) in the back of several shots from the E! documentary?

[NuthinFancy]

[quote=LBJefferies;2419252]Charlie Sheen is the new Chuck Norris.




On a more serious note. The man is obviously having some serious issuesquote]

Exactly the first 2 things that came to my head when all this Charlie B.S started.:drink:

[Maluco]

Reports are coming in of a bitchin' warlock on a mercury surfboard just off the coast of Tokyo.

Too soon?

It's never too soon on teh intarwebs.

word...

[GaryE30]

I've decided not to make them. If you want a shirt... hit up Charlie's site that he had some people make for him. I couldn't find a good place around me that actually had decent shirts to print on. I didn't want to risk getting shitty shirts.

http://charliesheen.fanfire.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Store.woa/wa/artist?artistName=Charlie+Sheen&sourceCode=CSHWEB&categoryName=Featured+Items

[emoshun]

^ Not to mention sued by a money hungry sheen, Im sure he would have his lawyers claim using his likeness to make money is a crime.

[imsotyerred]

^ Not to mention sued by a money hungry sheen, Im sure he would have his lawyers claim using his likeness to make money is a crime.

that's why you do it for cost, not profit ;)

[Fusion]

Nope, can't even do it for free without consent.
You're allowed to do policiticians based on some law, you can do parody, but I doubt this would be the case. Yes, you can use the quotes with no Sheen portrait because he hasn't trademarked those (and probably can't trademark 'winning').
You can try contacting him and ask. Asking is free :)

[george graves]

Did someone get the president's consent for all those "hope" t-shirts? I think it falls under "Fair use" no? Why am I asking you anyways - you're just guessing I assume.

[Fusion]

Quoted from a shirt forum

Yes, mug shots are public domain. So there are no copyright issues.

But there are still Right of Publicity laws that make the usage of a person's likeness illegal without permission. The fact that Y&R is a mainstream company doesn't make it legal. But I'm sure they do have the resources to contact Charlie Sheen's reps to get permission or negotiate licensing rights. If they have license or permission, it's legal. If not, they could be sued for violating right of publicity.

Parody is a defense to copyright infringement. But there are no copyright issues here. It won't hold any validity in regards to violations of publicity rights.

Political t-shirts, or for that matter any t-shirt containing the likeness of a politician is protected free speech and does not cross into the area of reselling of rights. The internet is a great source for images. If you have any doubt about the legality, take a look at all the shirts out there that have made fun of Bush for the last 8 years...you know he never authorized any of them, but as a public figure that's the price he pays.

Reply to ^^

I think you are confusing 2 different issues here:

1. "Right to Publicity" - for this aspect, you are correct in that political figures generally do not have the right to control the use of their likeness.

2. Copyright - Just because an image of a politician is on the internet, it doesn't mean you are free to use it. Usually, the person who created the image still holds the copyright. Using someone else's copyrighted work without permission is against the law, even if that work portrays a politician.

You can get licensed images that you can legally use. There are also public domain images. One major source for these is the federal government. Images created by the feds are almost always in the public domain. This might apply to some state and local governments as well, but I don't remember at the moment.

The fact that people get away with stealing images doesn't make it legal. I witness hundreds of people speeding every single day. That doesn't mean that speeding is legal.

Elected officials have 'right of publicity' just like any other citizen. So technically, using their name and likeness is infringement. But they generally do not pursue legal action in these cases because it would likely result in negative attention. So while it's not exactly legal (because the politician does have the right to sue), it tends to be very low risk (because politicians usually choose not to sue).

The line is drawn by the politician or celebrity. It's up to them if they want to sue for infringement. Like I said, politicians usually choose not to. But in the case of celebrity politicians (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura) both have filed infringement lawsuits in the past. So I would say the celebrity status trumps the politician status.

And this about sums it up:

Lets do some sums:
The cost of a 'cease & desist' letter - zero
You could get a summons, which you can't afford to contest and be hit with their costs plus a fine.
You could win, but not be awarded costs.
Put that against the profit from the shirts and work out what the risk is?
Some downloaders have been fined ridiculous sums, far in excess of any damage, sums that would bankrupt anyone. In the end it's up to you.
Do not accept any advice that it may or may not be legal because they rights holder could sue anyway and you have to go to court. It will use up your time and your money. Even if you win.
The only judgement that matters is the judge's.

[george graves]

Are you a lawyer? No? If you are I'll listen to you - if your not - all I hear is BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH......

Talking about legal stuff on the internet, with someone that's not even a lawyer is retarded. ;)

[Fusion]

If I was, you'd be PayPaling me money.

Go and read some laws if you're interested in the topic.
Hell, wikipedia might have information that would make you happy.

[george graves]

I honestly don't care.

[E30Nova]

I still want a shirt.

[GaryE30]

Then buy one from charlie lol.

[CleanAzzE30z]

Reports are coming in of a bitchin' warlock on a mercury surfboard just off the coast of Tokyo.

Too soon?

nevAr!