DVD Video graphic

[Josh Woll]

I've searched online everywhere for the DVD Video graphic that goes on the boxes for DVDs? Is there a site to find this graphic image? I've found some but the quality isn't that great? Is it illegal to use this image on a video I've created?

Thanks for your interest in providing information to these questions.

Josh Woll

Mosaic in Motion LLC
http://www.mosaicinmotion.com

[Eric Darling]

Originally Posted by Josh Woll

Is it illegal to use this image on a video I've created?

Basically, yes. You need to have a license to use the official DVD logo(s).
http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/logo/lg_who.html

You have to be either a replicator or manufacturer of DVD equipment. Content creators can only legally use the logo if their disc gets replicated by a licensed replication facility.

[Bruce Foreman]

Here's what I did. In Photoshop I made a "box" and filled it with black, then selected a font in the text tool that had a slight slant to the right with upper case text and selected the text color of white.

Typed DVD in the box and sized it till it looked right and flattened the layers, then trimmed black from the box until that looked right.

I use this graphic on Lightscribe disk labels and on the jacket I print for the box.

Hope this helps.

[Glenn Davidson]

I have always wondered about the legality of using the official DVD-R logo. Lets say I use a unbranded blank DVD-R disc from a manufacturer that is a license holder. If the manufacturer chooses to sell a product that is void of any logo, am I extended the right to print it on the disc along with my client's label information. Where is the legal harm in that?

[Eric Darling]

That is specifically prohibited under the terms of the authority's policy:

2) Use of the Logo by Contents Owners/Providers, Video Productions, Authoring Houses etc.;
Basically, Contents Owners/Providers, Video Productions, Authoring Houses are not allowed to use DVD Logo on their own, even if they write video contents on DVD discs by themselves. It is because the businesses are not eligible for our Licensing programs.
Only when DVD Video discs are replicated by one of our Licensees, the businesses may use DVD Logo Under the Licensee's Instruction and are suggested to contact the licensed replicator that replicates the DVD Video discs. You may obtain the DVD Logo data and the information regarding how the DVD Logo should be used. (Please also refer to F.A.Q. "DVD Logo" Q.1-4)

[Eric Shepherd]

I just did a quick search and came across this site:
http://www.euradisc.com/en/logos.htm

There's no mention of restrictions. Why is the 'official logo' site in Japan?

Eric

[Dale Stoltzfus]

The official DVD Format/Logo License Corporation has a page dedicated to just this question. For your purposes, you can only use the DVD logo if your DVD's were replicated or duplicated by a DVD FLLC-licensed company.

[Eric Darling]

Why is Japan suspect to you, Eric? That's where DVD was invented.

As for Euradisc, I'm not familiar with them, but they are probably a licensed replicator, and as such, allowed to print the logo on DVD media and associated packaging. You're allowed to put the DVD logo on your media and associated packaging if you use a licensed replicator to handle the job of making copies for you through a process known as "replication." This is basically a quality control issue. Replication is a wholly different process than duplication, and renders more consistent results. In replication, discs are not burned, but stamped from a master.

So, this is just the organization protecting their brand. It's a copyright that is honored in most countries around the world, so you're best advised to respect it.

[Eric Shepherd]

I was just wondering, those kind of things are usually non-profits or have .com top level domains.

I may have gotten my logos from that site last year when I worked on a dvd project, I don't remember. I know when I used Discmakers for replication, they checked all my graphics to make sure everything was layed out properly and what-not and they didn't mention the logos, so they may be a licensed duplication/replication company (they're one of the biggest, so it would make sense).

From my experience with dvd players and incompatibilities, it makes sense to go with a reputable place and not using dvd-r's because some players will have problems. It's less stressful to pay some additional money for a professional house to handle the job and the printing and shrink-wrapping and all, and know the discs will play back without problems, than to field a bunch of phone calls and email about compatibility problems with skipping, freezing, etc. :)

eric

[Josh Woll]

Thank you all for providing the information above. Doing wedding videography and other various projects, I would love to be able to use that logo because it looks sharp and professional on the box, but I do not have the budget to have a wedding completed, distribute only three copies and have another company replicate the copies for over a $100 when they only do bulk in general.

What if you made your own logo, that looked similar to that one, but it wasn't the exact same image? Could you still be classified as stealing the copyrighted use of the image even if you had proof of the one you made?

Thanks again for your time and information.

Josh Woll

[Jim Andrada]

Let's suppose you made a logo that looked "almost" exactly like the Coca Cola logo and put it on something?

Or the Walt Disney logo?

How far do you think you'd get before the mouse police tracked you down? They've been going after local bakeries that put pictures of Mickey Mouse on kids' birthday cakes They take this stuff seriously. Very seriously.

Best to forget the logo.

[Glenn Davidson]

The difference in this case is that DVD is a common, generic name. It is not a violation to put "DVD-Video" in block letters on the disc to identify the type of disc it is. That is quite different than using the Disney logo.

Here is an example of a logo that has been created and is free to use, or go ahead and make your own.

http://www.artofdvd.com/dvdlogos.html

[Jim Andrada]

Yup, DVD in block letters is OK - just don't make it look too much like the official logo!

[Vence Vida]

The last major project I did required 7,000 replicated dvds and I put the official dvd logo on my artwork and the replication house wouldn't print it. They said I had to show written proof that I had submitted my master to the company that owns the logo for approval of my master as adhering to their guidelines for granting usage of the logo. I was using a major replication house that does projects with that logo all the time, but mine was not approved.

In other words, it's not whether the replication house is "official" it's whether your material is authored properly to the society's guidelines and whether you have submitted that master in advance to the governing body that licenses that logo. It's kind of like saying a food is "low-fat" vs "reduced-fat" vs "non-fat", etc. The FDA has guidelines that dictate what you are allowed to claim on your product. The official DVD symbol that we're all so familiar with means the product meets certain guidelines for quality of playback.

I had done other projects and put that logo on my art, and when I asked the replicator about this, they said the governing bodies are cracking down on the illegal usage of the logo, so they are being more careful.

I ended up removing the official logo and just putting DVD in capital letters in it's place and they were fine with that.

-Vence