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Subject:RE: Populated screenshots From:"Hager, Harry (US - East Brunswick)" <hhager -at- dc -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 3 Apr 2001 11:13:01 -0400
Bryan,
Be careful about using names of copyrighted characters in screen shots. You
could be headed for a serious legal nightmare. Don't even think of using a
Disney character name. Disney could sue your company into the ground. They
aggressively protect their copyrighted characters and names at all cost.
I once worked for a very large computer company and the hardware engineers
thought it would be cute to name some of the chips on a new mainframe after
some of the Sesame Street characters, such as Big Bird, Oscar, Bert, Ernie
and so on. (Not Disney characters)
Well somehow the company lawyers got involved and you cannot believe the
legal hassles. It was too late to change the names of the chips (a
gazillions schematics already finished, or something like that) so, we
finally had to get written permission from the Television Workshop (or
whatever their name was) to legally use the names for which they had
copyrights. Our lawyers and their lawyers went through several iterations
before they finally gave us permission to use the names. We got permission
just in time to release the doc set. Not a fun time.
Been there. Done that. Don't want to be there again.
I've been known to use the names of my relatives; I just don't use the first
name and last name together. I sort of mix and match names with names I find
in the phone book. A phone book is a good place to find names, just don't
use the full name (first and last names together).
H. Jim Hager
hhager -at- dc -dot- com
Pittsburgh Data Center
I like to use the names Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Diana Prince, and Hal
Jordan in my screenshots.
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