Where can I find the DVD VIDEO logo? at DVinfo.net

Robert Knecht Schmidt · March 16th, 2004, 09:25 PM

I need the DVD VIDEO logo in vector format (e.g., EPS) for our DVD cover art. Any pointers? Thanks!

Robert Knecht Schmidt · March 16th, 2004, 09:27 PM

Apparently, my producer found one here.

Ed Smith · March 17th, 2004, 06:31 AM

Logos carry copyright - so using it with out permission might land you in trouble.

Then again who owns the copyright to it?

Ed

Rob Lohman · March 17th, 2004, 08:19 AM

I think the DVD logo's copyright is held by the DVD consortium.

Robert Knecht Schmidt · March 17th, 2004, 09:37 AM

It would be a trademark, not a copyright.

Ed Smith · March 17th, 2004, 09:45 AM

That would be true.

Any way, for commercial use you will still need to get permission.

Ed

Rob Lohman · March 17th, 2004, 10:19 AM

I meant trademark indeed. My bad.

Peter Jefferson · March 20th, 2004, 03:16 AM

err.. the dvd logo is owned by the "DVD Forum"

There ar e different "Books" you can buy (licenses) which allow the legal use of the logo...
(like phillips and the Compact Disc Logo.. technically they own the trademark art, but they ahvent persued any legalities behind any non licensed use.. which i cant say the same for these guys...

i think the cost to use the logo is ludicrous considering the format is so freely available..

I made my own logo.. and im happier with it... (im also licensed by Dolby labs, so i cant just throw any unlicensed art onto my work, as they check it.. )

Julian Luttrell · March 20th, 2004, 12:01 PM

Does this apply to content delivered on DVD-video discs?

The DVD forum site says " 2. DVD Products that need to be Licensed are: any product that uses the technological information disclosed in the corresponding DVD Format Book(s) -- DVD discs, DVD drives, DVD players, DVD recorders, DVD decoders (including software decoder), integrated products such as PCs, authoring tools, integrated circuits and encoders."

That seems to imply the physical discs themselves (so Verbatim et al are affected), and equipment/tool manufacturers.

My guess would be that you are free to put the DVD logo on your discs, because your authoring software manufacturer has already paid a fee for using the detailed informat6ion from the relevant "book", which you need to know nothing about.

Julian

Peter Jefferson · March 21st, 2004, 01:06 AM

clever way to look at it and in lamens terms yoru are correct..

in court though, its a different story...

the way they see it the license has been paid by the manufacturer of the said product..

if you produce a DVD with a Premanufactured Disc (which all of us would be doing) you are still manufacturing...
so.. if your creating a product using their technology, you must pay to use their logo... thats what it all comes down to...

I woudlnt risk it... but it would be interesting to hear their point of view on this, because you do a have a relevant point which i feel many people would get confused about.

Peter Moore · March 21st, 2004, 07:38 AM

It's a trademark and you can't use it without permission on your own DVDs. It's a logo that indicates that the product lives up to DVD specficiations. It's not supposed to be used as a marketing tool, and you can't use it without DVD forum's permission for any purpose other than those that it licenses for.

Julian Luttrell · March 21st, 2004, 02:37 PM

I've just got back from the horse's mouth (as it were).

The dvdfllc say that, as a DVD author, you need no licence to place the DVD-R or DVD-RW logo on the disc, but would require a licence for the DVD-Video or DVD-Audio logos. See http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/ (the 6th point in the FAQ section).

Methinks they don't understand software, but there you go...

Julian

Robert Knecht Schmidt · March 21st, 2004, 02:43 PM

So, who does one talk to to get a license, and how much does it cost? (And if it's essentially a per-unit tax for DVD production, why does anyone pay it, even [especially] the studios?)

Julian Luttrell · March 21st, 2004, 04:53 PM

I think, from reading the website, you need to contact the DVD Format Logo Licensing Corporation (dvdfllc, www.dvdfllc.co.jp).

As for price, see points 1 and 2 of the FAQ at www.dvdfllc.co.jp. (Hint: it's got four zeroes at the end, for each different product category).

It's a fixed price, not a per-unit one. So those of us running off 100,000 copy DVD productions are laughing (aren't we?). Hands up all of you!

Regards,

Julian

Robert Knecht Schmidt · March 21st, 2004, 05:27 PM

That's quite a racket they've got going for them. Daddy, I want to be a proprietary format validator when I grow up.

March 16th, 2004, 09:25 PM	#1
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	Where can I find the DVD VIDEO logo? I need the DVD VIDEO logo in vector format (e.g., EPS) for our DVD cover art. Any pointers? Thanks! __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 16th, 2004, 09:27 PM	#2
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	UPDATE Apparently, my producer found one here. __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 17th, 2004, 06:31 AM	#3
Ed Smith Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hampshire, England Posts: 1,545	Logos carry copyright - so using it with out permission might land you in trouble. Then again who owns the copyright to it? Ed __________________ Ed Smith Hampshire, UK Good things come to those who wait My Skiing web www.Frostytour.co.uk For quick answers Search dvinfo.net \| The best in the business: dvinfo.net Sponsors

March 17th, 2004, 08:19 AM	#4
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	I think the DVD logo's copyright is held by the DVD consortium. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 17th, 2004, 09:37 AM	#5
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	It would be a trademark, not a copyright. __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 17th, 2004, 09:45 AM	#6
Ed Smith Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hampshire, England Posts: 1,545	That would be true. Any way, for commercial use you will still need to get permission. Ed __________________ Ed Smith Hampshire, UK Good things come to those who wait My Skiing web www.Frostytour.co.uk For quick answers Search dvinfo.net \| The best in the business: dvinfo.net Sponsors

March 17th, 2004, 10:19 AM	#7
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	I meant trademark indeed. My bad. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 20th, 2004, 03:16 AM	#8
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	err.. the dvd logo is owned by the "DVD Forum" There ar e different "Books" you can buy (licenses) which allow the legal use of the logo... (like phillips and the Compact Disc Logo.. technically they own the trademark art, but they ahvent persued any legalities behind any non licensed use.. which i cant say the same for these guys... i think the cost to use the logo is ludicrous considering the format is so freely available.. I made my own logo.. and im happier with it... (im also licensed by Dolby labs, so i cant just throw any unlicensed art onto my work, as they check it.. )

March 20th, 2004, 12:01 PM	#9
Julian Luttrell Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 164	Does this apply to content delivered on DVD-video discs? The DVD forum site says " 2. DVD Products that need to be Licensed are: any product that uses the technological information disclosed in the corresponding DVD Format Book(s) -- DVD discs, DVD drives, DVD players, DVD recorders, DVD decoders (including software decoder), integrated products such as PCs, authoring tools, integrated circuits and encoders." That seems to imply the physical discs themselves (so Verbatim et al are affected), and equipment/tool manufacturers. My guess would be that you are free to put the DVD logo on your discs, because your authoring software manufacturer has already paid a fee for using the detailed informat6ion from the relevant "book", which you need to know nothing about. Julian

March 21st, 2004, 01:06 AM	#10
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	clever way to look at it and in lamens terms yoru are correct.. in court though, its a different story... the way they see it the license has been paid by the manufacturer of the said product.. if you produce a DVD with a Premanufactured Disc (which all of us would be doing) you are still manufacturing... so.. if your creating a product using their technology, you must pay to use their logo... thats what it all comes down to... I woudlnt risk it... but it would be interesting to hear their point of view on this, because you do a have a relevant point which i feel many people would get confused about.

March 21st, 2004, 07:38 AM	#11
Peter Moore Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Arlington VA Posts: 1,034	It's a trademark and you can't use it without permission on your own DVDs. It's a logo that indicates that the product lives up to DVD specficiations. It's not supposed to be used as a marketing tool, and you can't use it without DVD forum's permission for any purpose other than those that it licenses for.

March 21st, 2004, 02:37 PM	#12
Julian Luttrell Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 164	I've just got back from the horse's mouth (as it were). The dvdfllc say that, as a DVD author, you need no licence to place the DVD-R or DVD-RW logo on the disc, but would require a licence for the DVD-Video or DVD-Audio logos. See http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/ (the 6th point in the FAQ section). Methinks they don't understand software, but there you go... Julian

March 21st, 2004, 02:43 PM	#13
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	So, who does one talk to to get a license, and how much does it cost? (And if it's essentially a per-unit tax for DVD production, why does anyone pay it, even [especially] the studios?) __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 21st, 2004, 04:53 PM	#14
Julian Luttrell Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 164	I think, from reading the website, you need to contact the DVD Format Logo Licensing Corporation (dvdfllc, www.dvdfllc.co.jp). As for price, see points 1 and 2 of the FAQ at www.dvdfllc.co.jp. (Hint: it's got four zeroes at the end, for each different product category). It's a fixed price, not a per-unit one. So those of us running off 100,000 copy DVD productions are laughing (aren't we?). Hands up all of you! Regards, Julian

March 21st, 2004, 05:27 PM	#15
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	That's quite a racket they've got going for them. Daddy, I want to be a proprietary format validator when I grow up. __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors