How did the makers of "Concussion" movie get permission to use NFL logo?

[russian_heel]

:57 of the trailer.

The movie trailer seems to indicate that the NFL is being portrayed in a bad light in this movie due out December. Doesn’t the NFL own the rights to their logo? The NFL’s public stance has been to not shirk from the subject and the movie, but Im shocked they allowed this and didn’t force the movie makers to create a fictional league:

CONCUSSION - Official Trailer (HD)

[gaffa]

It is possible the NFL made the calculation that keeping the filmmakers from using the term and logo NFL would be admitting that there is a problem and that they have something to hide. In the end, they would be supplying the film studio with a huge amount of free publicity.

[Novelty_Bobble]

Are there any artistic freedoms or “fair use” policies regarding trademarks when dealing with a true story?

Did “Munich” use the Olympics name and rings logo? Certainly cinematic releases of documentary films feel free to use logos and the names of real businesses.

[Acsenray]

The owner of a trademark has a very limited set of rights regarding that trademark. If the use of the trademark is not infringement, or dilution, or false advertising, or false designation of origin (or affiliation, sponsorship, etc.), etc., the trademark owner does not have the right to stop it.

[Acsenray]

@Novelty_Bobble

Are there any artistic freedoms or “fair use” policies regarding trademarks when dealing with a true story?

It’s not really an “artistic freedom” specifically but there is a concept of fair use in trademark law.

Did “Munich” use the Olympics name and rings logo? Certainly cinematic releases of documentary films feel free to use logos and the names of real businesses.

Just as an aside, the Olympic trademarks get extra protection that other trademarks don’t get.

[Sam_Lowry]

There have been some articles about the movie since the trailer came out. Here’s an informative one: The NFL Didn’t Have To Screw Will Smith’s Concussion Movie, Hollywood Already Had. Concussion is a Sony movie, and so from the Sony hack we can see emails from along the development process:

NFL – We’ll develop messaging with the help of NFL consultant to ensure that we are telling a dramatic story and not kicking the hornet’s nest. We will always be careful of how we represent that NFL itself in key art and images (we need to comply with fair use) and we’ll walk a fine line as it relates to the “David and Goliath” nature of this story. We expect a healthy amount of NFL in our media flight and we’ll seek to have sportscasters equipped to talk about this movie as an important development in the history of the game without casting blame or judgement., …

Managing Controversy — we should give consideration to allowing voices on both sides of the issue to sound off as part of our campaign. We used this tactic on The Social Network when the privacy questions about Facebook were at their height — we highlighted both sides of the debate on a Tumblr blog. On The Da Vinci Code, we hired a faith based consultant to launch a site that allowed clergy to weigh in on the claims made by the book.

Bennet — In the same way that we managed to get Chris Gardner’s “stamp of approval” on The Pursuit of Happyness we’ll consider how we’ll use Bennet in the campaign ensuring that we keep him on message. His mission is about safety and saving lives but the MOVIE is about the American Dream on some level and how this outsider in seeking his own place seemingly threatened the American Dream of others. It’s also a story about overcoming the odds.

So the NFL might not be shown in a glowing light, but if there is any indictment, it sounds like it will be on certain people, not on the total organization.

[Bryan_Ekers]

So will the message be “so what if you turn onto a twitching paranoid mess that murders his family? You got the glory of playing pro football, and glory lasts forever.”

[RealityChuck]

@Novelty_Bobble

Are there any artistic freedoms or “fair use” policies regarding trademarks when dealing with a true story?

Not “fair use,” but as long as you’re not using the trademark to sell a competing product, it’s not a violation. Remember, these are TRADEmarks – if you’re not using them in trade (i.e., selling a product similar enough to cause confusion with the legitimate trademark), trademark law doesn’t apply.

Did “Munich” use the Olympics name and rings logo? Certainly cinematic releases of documentary films feel free to use logos and the names of real businesses.

Again, this isn’t selling a similar type of athletic competition. Free speech trumps trademark law and you can use trademarks in fiction without asking permission.*

*Yes, even incorrectly – you’ll get a letter from the lawyers, but they won’t sue.