The unofficial "official" DVD logo for your projects
 

As many of you probably already know, it is against the DVD Format Logo Licensing Corporation (DVD FLLC) rules to use the official DVD logo on discs you burn yourself (i.e., DVD+/-R media). In light of this situation, artofdvd.com has kindly provided, in consultation with the DVD FLLC, a DVD logo free of charge for your DVD projects. Find out more and download the logo at artofdvd.com.

yah it might be against but that is the logo that everone knows and its not going to change anytime soon. Nothing to be to concerned about.

Is there some advantage to putting a DVD logo on your project?

Well, for starters, it lets people know to stick the disc in their DVD drive and not the CDROM drive (do folks still use those???).

I can't imagine someone coming after you for using the "official" DVD logo. I'm sorry, but the 'alternative' looks rather cheezy.

The blank DVD-R disks which I have are already printed with the logo of a disk with "DVD" over it. So is it OK for the disk manufacturer to put this on a blank, but not OK for you to put a label with that logo on that same disk?

this really isnt an issue, lol.

It is an issue for me and others like me who are not comfortable with non-authorised use of a logo on a project. I see your point that no one is probably going to care, but I do not advise our clients to use the DVD logo and would not release a project with it. Same is true for copyrighed music and SFX. I know Wedding videographers do it all the time, but it is still non- authorised use of someone's property.

Thanks for the links Chris. I have a project now that will be released as audio and DVD, this will help identify the discs. It is better that the logo I made.

yah u have a point that there isnt much difference between using copyrighted music/fx but i think using a DVD logo is less destructive. Of course if you are selling your product you wouldnt use copyright music without permission(yes i know lots ppl do) but i just dont see a big deal when it comes to the DVD logo. As it is a standard and in my view is not a copyright issue.

Think again ...
 

It costs my dup house 20,000 dollars a year in license fees to be able to print that logo on dvd's ... you may want to think twice before mass producing something with it on your media and not paying the piper ... just food for thought .... I heard of a story where some car company didn't realize their dup house wasn't licensed and the CAR COMPANY had to pay a $200,000 penatly! I guess that was cheaper than retrieving the media and having it reprinted. Again, food for thought, but assuming on ignoring copyright can really bite ya bad ....

So just so I understand, it's up to my replicator if I can add the 'official' logo?

IANAL, so read this for whatever it's worth...

I did a lot of research on this before I replicated 5000 DVD's of a project I did. After reading the documentation, it looks like the company who publishes the DVD is responsible for purchasing the necessary licensing. Not only do you have to purchase the proper licensing to use the logo, every DVD title you produce has to be independently tested and verified for DVD compatibility before you can distribute it with the logo. If I remember correctly, that testing process can be upwards of $5k depending on which independent lab you send it to. So to answer your question, (in my understanding) your replicator would not have the authorization to grant you the license to use the logo. Even if they did, you would still have to complete the testing process (at very least).

This process makes sense though if you really think about it. The people who created the DVD spec want to be sure that the "value" of that logo and trademark is upheld. What if every other official "DVD" you bought at your local Best Buy store didnt' work at all? You'd probably think that DVD's were a bunch of @#$%. If you create a DVD and use the logo without permission, and your DVD does not work properly, then you have wrongfully misrepresented the strength of that trademark.

A quick example. What if you built your own car, then put a "Lexus" logo on it and tried to sell it. Chances are, you'd be in court before the rubber hit the road.

It's crazy, but it makes sense when you have huge distribution companies that produce so many videos, it becomes very cost effective to license and use the official logo. For us smaller shops, it is completely out of the ballpark. That's why I stick to my own "DVD Video" logo for my projects... just Arial Black text.

Once again, this is what I've come to understand after much research. If someone knows different, by all means please interject!

I agree 100% that we should respect the law, licenses, etc. We should have the highest of ethical standards in everything we do. But at the same time I reject the notion that the use of the DVD logo implies that it is a quality product, even though I know that according to the copyright holder that is the purpose. I think to me and most others it simply identifies the product as being a DVD. I think it's silly that they chose to license it, but that is their perogative (and a lot of money in their pocket!).

I;m going to distribute 25,000 DVDs at the end of the year. I'll probably use a company like Disk-makers. What do I need to do? Licensing fees are not a problem. Who do I need to contact for the right paperwork?

Everything you need to know about properly licensing the logo can be found here: http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/

Thanks, for the help

In looking at the "official" website - it looks to me like the license fee is only for manufacturers of burners/players/disks - not for DVD content producers.

from the website:
who needs the license?
You do, if you fall under any of the following categories.
1. Replicators/Manufacturers of DVD Discs
2. Manufacturers of DVD Players, DVD Recorders, DVD Drives and DVD Decoders. Also, makers of personal computers that incorporate DVD Drives, DVD Players or DVD Decoders are required to have them.
3. Manufacturers of other DVD Products that utilize the information disclosed in the DVD Format Book. These include manufacturers of Integrated Circuits and Encoders, as well as Formatters, etc.

I've had DVDs mass produced by a big name replication house, with the DVD logo on the cover art, and there wasn't any mention of not being able to use the DVD logo.

You have to read further:

The Logo authenticates the product as being legitimate and better Format compliant. It means that the only Logo that may appear on a product is the Logo of the Format used to manufacture the item. For example, it would be wrong to use the DVD Video Logo on a DVD-R disc that was authored to include visual material.

When you read everything there it is very clear that it is a violation of trademark laws to use the symbol.

you have to read even further than that, under Use of the Logo by Non-Licensees:

"** Video productions, authoring studios, contents providers

If they use DVD FLLC�fs Licensed Replicators, they are able to use the DVD Logo under the instructions of the Replicators."

note that the website also sez that dvd+rw discs are never allowed to use the dvd logo.

so if you go with a licensed replicator there should be no problem... but that does not solve the issue for those of us who burn dvd -r's at home.

Soory, I didn't clarify, I was referring to those of us that do it ourselves, not replicators.

You're quite welcome. I'm glad somebody appreciated it.

I must say I'm at least a little disappointed in the reaction my post provoked. I would've hoped that being content producers ourselves we would be more aware of the importance of respecting others intellectual property.

would help if the page had the logos to look at...

Exactly what I was thinking!

Anyway, here is the real logo, if you have the authorization.

If you open the link in the first post of this thread and click at the botton of the page, you can download the free use logos.

nup dont work mate

Unfortunately, as you discovered the DVD logo preview thumbnails and the links to the JPEG versions on the ArtofDVD.com page are broken. So I have taken the liberty of providing them on my own site (which is allowed under the license). Anyone wishing to preview the free ArtofDVD.com logo and/or download the JPEG version can visit my DVD Logos page.

Anyone wishing to download the ArtofDVD.com logo Photoshop file can still get it from the ArtofDVD.com page. It is avaible at the bottom of the page through the "Click here for a zip archive with a Photoshop file and the license" link.

I realize this is a little dated; but I was wondering if artofdvd.com created an "alternate design" what's keeping others from creating their own design, as long as it doesn't look like the design?

Thanks!

The Replication company licenses the right, and may place the logo on REPLICATED material. They are responsible for meeting the specs.

Athens Video created their own design:

http://www.athensvideo.com/

"5-02- 2006: Free DVD Logo to use however you want. If you want to use the other well-known DVD logo on anything, you must pay a licensing fee for that right. This is fair, because the logo represents certain standards. However, it is a hassle to obtain those rights, and it costs money. We use our own DVD logo, which we are distributing free to anyone who wants to use it.
Download here:(http://www.athensvideo.com/gallery/AlternateDVDlogo.jpg)"

I would guess it would probably be okay, but not being familiar with the legal angles in this circumstance, I'm afraid my answer would be "I don't know." ArtofDVD.com's logo was developed in consultation with the DVD FLLC, so in that sense it apparently has some official blessing from the powers that be.

Just curious... I didn't see anything about this fact on Eliot's website (ArtofDVD.com). How do you know this for certain?
Thank you very much!

The second paragraph on the ArtofDVD.com DVD logo page states:

"In response to this, and with consultation from the DVD FLLC, ArtofDVD.com is providing the following logos under a free license."

(Emphasis added.)