Using film posters and trailers on a website

[ChrisHFilms]

Hello everyone,

I am interested in starting a website for film lovers which includes reviews, trailers etc. The only problem is I'm not sure about the legality of using film posters and trailers on a website. Could anyone give me a little information about what I should do?

Thanks,
Chris

[mrsnowman]

Quote: (http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=571936)
The judge found Video Pipeline liable for copyright infringement, trade mark violation and unfair competition. Judge Jerome Siandle wrote:
"Trailers have become more than advertising material for other products; they have become valuable entertainment content in their own right, as web surfers continually frequent the internet to view these on-line commodities prior to movie releases, [...] and such previews increase web site traffic and on-line 'stickiness,' which give web site owners additional time and opportunities to market their services and products." (http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=571936)

Basically, it's because watching the trailer on the website of the owner allows more time to advertise other things.
So I don't think you can.

[WesScog]

It should be protected under fair use for Journalistic use, since you're reviewing them and talking about the films.

[mrsnowman]

listen to wesscog

he knows more than me

[WesScog]

The issue in the case Snow posted is in regards to downloading the trailers from the source website, then hosting them on your own site. That is a bad idea, and it'll take up a huge amount of resources to do that anyway.

A better option is to post the trailers from YouTube (Most of the studios have their own channels, and movies often set up their own channels too) at which point they'd WANT you to spread those around because they want people to see them.

The posters though, posting them with a review of the film should be totally fine, and be covered under fair-use.

[ChrisHFilms]

Thanks for your replies and advice :)

[JonMolly]

A better option is to post the trailers from YouTube (Most of the studios have their own channels, and movies often set up their own channels too) at which point they'd WANT you to spread those around because they want people to see them.

Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but YouTube gives content providers the option of turning off embedding. So it's safe to assume that anyone who leaved their video embedable (if that's a word) is de facto granting everyone the right to post that video on their own site.

[TreasureBox Films]

a great trailer hosting site to embed from is www.traileraddict.com. They're all in HD!