The Hollywood sign is *NOT* protected by trademark or copyright law.
Shutterstock says:
Hollywood Sign
Located in Los Angeles, California.
The sign itself is trademarked.
Unacceptable for commercial use.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office shows that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce applied for numerous trademarks for the Hollywood sign, all of which were *DENIED*. You can go to the uspto.gov web site and search yourself for the Hollywood sign and see that they do not have a registered trademark for the sign itself.
The sign itself is public property, owned by the State of California. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce only has the responsibility of maintaining the sign, and granting access to the grounds immediately surrounding the sign. They do NOT have the right to copyright or trademark the sign.
The State of California passed a law defining the above public status and the rights of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Being a public landmark, anyone can photograph it and sell photos without restriction.
I contacted the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and asked them why they were claiming it was trademarked. This is their response:
Your email of September 6, 2014 was forwarded to my attention by our client, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce ("Chamber"), for the appropriate follow-up and response. I am Of Counsel to both Global Icons, LLC, which serves
as the Chambers exclusive, worldwide merchandising and licensing agent and to the Chamber. First, thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. We hope to be able to clarify the Chamber's rights in and to its protected intellectual property, specifically the Hollywood Stylized Mark, and clear up what appears to be a misunderstanding on your part concerning your right to exploit your work as a photographer. That said, please know that the
Chamber of Commerce's rights in and to its registered trademarks do not in any way conflict with your rights as a photographer.You state in your email that you "read that the Hollywood sign is protected by trademarks and therefor (sic) [you] cannot resell photos that contain the sign". While the Chamber does indeed hold valid trademarks for its' Hollywood Stylized Mark aka the Hollywood Sign on the Hill,
your statement that these registrations somehow preclude you from exploiting your rights as a photographer of the Sign couldn't be further from the truth. I am not sure where you read this, but it simply is not the case. As to how a landmark can be afforded trademark protection, I suggest that you contact the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as they routinely grant trademarks to landmarks. The Seattle space needle and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland are two such similar examples.
Again, such trademark protection does not deny you or any other photographer "the right to photograph and resell photos that contain [these landmarks]".
In instances where a 3rd party would purchase your or another photographer's photos of the Hollywood Sign or license those photos from you or the photographer (ie license the copyrights in and to the specific image of the Sign that was taken by you or the other photographer) and then wanted to use that image in a trademark sense or in a way that might mislead the consumer that the use was approved, sponsored and/or endorsed by the Chamber, the 3rd party --not the individual photographer--would also need to acquire a separate license / the rights from the Chamber as the Chamber holds trademark rights in and to the Hollywood Stylized Mark.
I hope that helps clarify matters and adequately addresses your concerns. If not, please do not hesitate to contact me to further discuss the same or if I should be of any further assistance.
Best,Christine
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Please note that a lot of what Christine said above is simply not true. She repeatedly asserted that photographers have the right to photograph and sell photos of the Hollywood sign, but she is incorrect in stating that landmarks are trademarked, or that license are needed for any reason. Only a court of law (federal or state) can grant someone authority to require you to pay a licensing fee. A local chamber of commerce has no right to do so except for businesses that are a member of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
I seem to recall that
the only trademark that they were granted was to put the Hollywood logo on shopping bags from the gift store they run, which does not extend to stock footage in any manner.
in fact, 3 times they tried to register the Hollywood sign as a trademark for 'signage' and they were unable to receive a registration. most of their trademarks are for things like use of the sign on tshirts, clocks, and paper bags. the sign is owned by the city, and as such, is publically owned, and does not require a property release from anyone.
According to the US Copyright Office:
section 102 of the Copyright Act (title 17 of the United States Code), as amended on December 1, 1990.
http://copyright.gov/circs/circ41.pdfIneligible Building Designs
Structures other than buildingsAccording to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (maintainer of the Hollywood sign), and the US Copyright Office, it is legal to sell stock footage of the Hollywood sign without restriction.
Question:
Are photographers prohibited from selling photos or videos of the Hollywood sign?
Answer:
No. There are no restrictions under US Copyright or Trademark law.
December 13, 2007, 18:52
