Is Nico getting any money for this ad on my home page?

Submitted by Mich4Life on August 9th, 2020 at 11:24 PM

Is Nico Getting any Money for this mgoblog ad on my home page?   

 

It is my understanding that Kindle, Amazon, and mgo/HTTV paying Nico for using his image would rule him ineligible. 

 

How does all this stuff work? 

 

Genuinely curious and thought others might find this of interest. 

 

 

trueblueintexas

August 10th, 2020 at 1:48 AM ^

Companies are not allowed to use the image of someone or an entity (like the UofM) to help sell or endorse their products without permission. Permission usually involves payment of some kind. 
In reality, smaller companies, or self employed people may get away with using someone’s image because it is almost impossible to find every offense. Usually, eventually the person or entity finds out and sends a cease and desist request. Sometimes they are able to request reimbursement based on what was earned during the time the image was used.

In the case of Nico’s picture, it may have been taken during a public event (like a game) in which case public rights may apply, but the photographer or MGoBlog may have also asked and received the rights to use it from the UofM which holds the players image and likeness rights. This is what will be changing going forward. 

phil

August 9th, 2020 at 11:45 PM ^

"PAY THE PLAYERS!", they scream as they go on year like 15 of profiting off of those same players.  

 

For someone so sleepy all of the time, Ace is amazingly woke.  

phil

August 10th, 2020 at 9:32 AM ^

#1 - oh god no, not my internet points.  you can enjoy your internet points though, pal.

 

#2 - would you say that is better or worse than calling anyone who disagrees with you a 'bootlicker' aka the left's version of 'cuck'.  perhaps these kids that want to play know more about the situation than random man sitting in his basement in ypsilanti.

Magnus

August 11th, 2020 at 9:10 AM ^

I don't see why this is a difficult concept.

On the one hand, I agree with you that, ideally, you would want MGoBlog to practice what they preach (pay the players!).

On the other hand, there's no tool that allows them to pay the players. It would be a violation to do so.

Just because you think Person X should be released from jail doesn't mean you should break them out of jail. (No, I'm not equating jail and college athletics, but the point is that you can't/shouldn't just break the rules because you disagree with them.)

All Is Fair In…

August 9th, 2020 at 11:59 PM ^

Maybe 2 years ago there was a big, permanent billboard-sized ad for the NFL and college football on the side of the Fox headquarters in LA. It had 4-5 easily recognizable NFL players and then Devin Bush in his Michigan uniform (he was the only college player on the ad)... Seems crazy to me that he wouldn't get paid for that.

Mich4Life

August 10th, 2020 at 12:09 AM ^

I’m wondering if there is language in the contracts NFL and college players sign where they give up their right to their image.

 

In this hypothetical poster of JJ Watt, Khalil Mack, Aaron Donald, and (college) Bush, is anyone getting paid? Could the NFL or NCAA sue you for using their image in an unapproved fashion? Perhaps using Brady Quinn’s image in an ND jersey to sell butt plugs would be frowned upon. 

 

Does mgo have to pay anyone for the images they use in HTTV? Just the photographers who might own or license their work? Or free.99 for any image on google? 

 

 

vablue

August 10th, 2020 at 6:08 AM ^

Even the pros don’t get paid to have their pic on the front of a magazine.  In all the push to get college players paid, some often forget or are never aware of the things that get the pros paid and those that don’t.  

Seth

August 10th, 2020 at 7:18 AM ^

It's Fair Use. That is a photograph of Nico taken by Bryan Fuller, a credentialed photographer for MGoBlog, on the cover of a publication published by MGoBlog about the 2020 football season. The publication is being advertised, and I transformed the cover of the publication. The ad appears only on MGoBlog where we have been advertising the book to the point that anyone who sees it should recognize the cover of the book has an added element.

But I sense you knew that already, or at least suspected something to this effect. I suspect that your concern for a person's name and image rights isn't genuine, that you are saying this in the context that MGoBlog advocates for players' NIL rights* which you oppose, IE you're making a bad faith argument that I'm a hypocrite.

If you weren't just being an asshole and honestly want to understand Fair Use I'm happy to talk about it because it's a very important right that gets stepped on often these days.

*We openly admit our motive here is not entirely altruistic; we think if the Michigan money cannon was directed at players Michigan would be more competitive with some programs that already do so under the table.

Mich4Life

August 10th, 2020 at 8:56 AM ^

Thanks for the reply. I’m an infrequent poster and often don’t share my opinion, but in this case I visited this website to check in on the likely to be cancelled season, and this ad was large front and center, I had a specific question about fair use (new term to me), NIL, and changing laws that I don’t quite keep up with (California legislation leading the way?).  This was just a good illustration of a question I’ve had for a while.. hope it was appropriate to post.. 

 

You answered my question, and I in no way was hoping to put down the blog, and I support players collecting a paycheck for their image being used. I now have a more clear understanding of the specifics around fair use.  No need for the personal attack. You summed up my intentions at the end of your comment: 

If you weren't just being an asshole and
honestly want to understand Fair Use I'm happy to talk about it because it's a very important right that gets stepped on often these days.

WestQuad

August 10th, 2020 at 10:36 AM ^

Image rights in general are fairly interesting.  I've worked with TV and movie metadata providers and they will charge for use of the images of celebrities from the shows, but they don't actually own those pictures and don't actually have the rights to those pictures.   PR firms for each of the movies supply these pictures to all of the aggregators, but it is too time consuming* to do legal contracts for every movie, TV show and celebrity, so they have a "don't ask don't tell" type of policy.  The general rule is if you are promoting the entertainment property you are good.  If you're using the image to promote your service, other than it being a photo of your service with their stuff in it, you can get in trouble.  

The same actually goes for team logos.  I paid for all of the college and pro sports league logos to an aggregator, but I didn't not get a warranty that the aggregator had the rights to any of them.  Nor did I get any indemnity if the leagues/teams decided to sue me.  The aggregator didn't actually have the rights to the logos even though they were charging me for them.  Again, as long as I was promoting a game time or article about the team, I was good.   If I used it to sell a product, I could get in trouble.

*If you think about the 100s of people in a movie, they all have contracts saying that the movie can use their image, but when it comes time for a lawyer to go through every contract to verify that, it isn't going to happen.  If the 3rd extra from the left was someone's cousin who snuck on to the set no one is going to want to warrant that they have that guys signed off rights.  In a similar-type fashion, the NFL or NCAA wants people to promote their games, but doesn't want to have to have a contract with every bar that advertises the game is going to be on.  Fair use and unwritten rules of promotion, though very murky are important or nothing would ever get promoted.  

Mich4Life

August 10th, 2020 at 12:20 PM ^

The general rule is if you are promoting the entertainment property you are good. 

If you're using the image to promote your service, other than it being a photo of your service with their stuff in it, you can get in trouble.  

 

Confusing general rule.. examples of breaking this rule?

 

 

WestQuad

August 10th, 2020 at 7:15 PM ^

If your magazine has Nico Collins on the cover and you have the rights to use that photo through fair use or a license you can then take a picture of your magazine and promote the magazine in an ad.  

If you have a picture of Nico collins with a thumbs up and paste it next to your magazine and say "Everyone likes our magazine," or something like that then it looks like Nico is endorsing your magazine and you're liable.  

Talk to three different lawyers and you'll get three different opinions, but I've spoken to a few lawyers and a lot of biz dev/licensing types for countless hours and this seems to be how it works.  

You also have to have rights to the photo in the first place.  The Nico photo was taken by MGoBlog, so they own it and can use Nico's image through [fair use/public photos]. If the photo was taken by someone else they would have to license the photo from that person.  ...and Nico still doesn't make money. 

Always CYA with a lawyer's blessing if you don't know and if any amount of real money is on the line.