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Answerman - Why Can't Anime Use Trademarked Names?


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Heishi



Joined: 06 Mar 2016
Posts: 1314
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 6:28 pm Reply with quote
I find some of the altered names in lots of these shows, hilarious. Like when one series changed Sony to Pony.

There was another show that had the name "DSP". Can't remember the name of the show, though.
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Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 4564
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 6:45 pm Reply with quote
Greed1914 wrote:
I got a kick out of seeing my favorite bourbon make an appearance in the Captain Tylor OVAs. They changed the coloring of the label, but it was otherwise very recognizable.

On the other hand, I found it distracting to see some scenes in Fairy Tail where bottles of alcohol were clearly based on real brands. Considering the entire setting is fictional, seeing that was a bit distracting.

Oh jeez, this reminds me of something from the n00biest days of my fandom. Many years ago I was watching a run of Trigun on [adult swim], and it happened to be an episode where Vash is drinking with a famous gunsmith. One of the bottles in the shot was clearly meant to be Wild Turkey. My roommate and his friend happened to walk by the TV, and being aficionados of the brand, they were instantly pumped and wound up watching half the episode. Good times.
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Sakagami Tomoyo



Joined: 06 Dec 2008
Posts: 940
Location: Melbourne, VIC, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 6:45 pm Reply with quote
pachy_boy wrote:
My question is--why don't they just make up their own brand names for products that characters use? They don't have to be anything epic or memorable, they could even be staff in-jokes (which is what Pixar does). In my opinion, considering the story is taking place in a fictional world or an alternative version of our own world, that option is far less distracting than making up words that sound similar to brand names that we know.

Two reasons. First is that it's quicker and easier (and therefore cheaper) to take something existing and modify it enough to not be problematic. The second is that it generally works better to evoke a known brand rather than have a completely fictional one; MgRonald's and Sentucky Fried Chicken say "major chain" to the audience better than anything they make up from scratch could.

pluvia33 wrote:
So I'm wondering if print media in Japan follows different rules, if they took the time to get clearance, or if the creator/editor/publisher just ignored the rules?

I'm not sure if it's the rules or the enforcement that's more lax, but print media definitely gets away with more, and not just in the trademark department. One of the Suzumiya Haruhi novels features the SOS Brigade getting drunk, one of the Bodacious Space Pirates novels apparently features a drug-fueled party, the Strawberry Marshmallow manga had a high school girl smoking, etc.
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Levitz9



Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Posts: 1022
Location: Puerto Rico
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 6:54 pm Reply with quote
Years and years ago, when I watched Sakura Diaries, I was very amused to see they had "Prings" brand potato chips. These came in a cardboard tube. Laughing

We mustn't forget the preferred candy of Mizuho Kazami of Please Teacher! fame: "Rocky".
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ChromeEagle



Joined: 29 Mar 2015
Posts: 34
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:08 pm Reply with quote
Sakagami Tomoyo wrote:
pachy_boy wrote:
My question is--why don't they just make up their own brand names for products that characters use? They don't have to be anything epic or memorable, they could even be staff in-jokes (which is what Pixar does). In my opinion, considering the story is taking place in a fictional world or an alternative version of our own world, that option is far less distracting than making up words that sound similar to brand names that we know.

Two reasons. First is that it's quicker and easier (and therefore cheaper) to take something existing and modify it enough to not be problematic. The second is that it generally works better to evoke a known brand rather than have a completely fictional one; MgRonald's and Sentucky Fried Chicken say "major chain" to the audience better than anything they make up from scratch could.


I was about to mention the fact that Pixar's worlds are often entirely fictional to begin with, but Pachy seems to have answered their own question. When anime characters are spending time in/around the Kantou region, you're going to expect to see familiar brands, not ones that were fabricated from nothing. Having the characters from Toy Story visit a place like Pizza Planet, or that massive shopping outlet in the sequel, does more to keep the audience immersed within the fictional universe the story is set within. If it was stated at some point that the setting was in Texas, those two locations are suddenly going to feel out-of-place.
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Aphasial
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 08 Aug 2010
Posts: 122
Location: San Diego, CA
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:10 pm Reply with quote
It's not so much a trademark usage as it is a parody (of A&W Root Beer), but I still crack up any time Toshinō Kyōko pulls out a can of "Masochist Cider" in Yuru Yuri

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Sloppy_Jimbo



Joined: 01 Oct 2015
Posts: 98
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:23 pm Reply with quote
^ This, and Sudoh (Pseudo?)-Bucks cracks me up.
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BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 5887
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:38 pm Reply with quote
Quote:


Many directors hate making fake brands appear in their work. Having a character take a sip from a can that's just marked "SODA" or "BIFF COLA" or something equally fake is very distracting, and takes the audience out of a movie. It's not unlike having a character dial a phone number that starts with 555. It's a big flashing red light to the audience that says "WHAT YOU'RE WATCHING IS SUPER FAKE". So, whenever possible, they use real products and logos, and use those names in dialogue. It's how people actually live in real life, after all.


And yet when it comes to something like video games putting in ads for real things = shattering the immersion (and other nondescript complaints).
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Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4462
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:51 pm Reply with quote
^ I always prefer seeing ads for real things in videogames. Or maybe not so much ads (unless it's a place where you'd expect to see ads like billboards or on the side of buses) but certainly real world logos add to the immersion.

That's one reason why I like the Playstation 2 game The Getaway so much, they recreated London with hundreds of actual storefronts as well as all of the authentic Piccadilly Circus signage from back in the day when it was mostly fixed signage and not just boring video screens. I was able to "visit" many Pizza Huts, KFCs, and McDonald's that I had eaten at in real life.
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Violynne



Joined: 09 May 2014
Posts: 128
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 8:26 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
They're are a form of intellectual property, and using them without permission can get you sued.

No, they're not. And, no, they most certainly can't.

The biggest reason people believe this nonsense is because of articles like this, which spread this misinformation which people begin to believe (since it's posted so much, it has to be true).

Trademarks are only for products and slogans and must be attached to a product or service. This means, by definition, they cannot be "intellectual property" (a term I wish everyone would stop using).

The only way a person or business can get sued using a trademark on their product or service, which can cause customer confusion.

It's more a problem with the threat of a lawsuit is all it takes to circumvent legal use, and articles like this do nothing but propagate this stupidity rather than actually correct it.

Perhaps stick to anime and leave the legalese to those who best understand it.

Please. Don't add fuel to the fire that's already out of control.
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Tempest
I Run this place.
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Joined: 29 Dec 2001
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 8:26 pm Reply with quote
ChromeEagle wrote:
However, I'm intrigued by cases such as this one (Second image) from New Game!. A few firearms, particularly Ahagon's very-obviously-modeled-after-an FN Five-seveN, are never labeled or mentioned as such. But unlike with "WcDonald's" or "7-Twelve", the creators don't go out of their way to distinguish it from the real-world counterpart. Perhaps it's just because they don't have to?


The issue isn't recognizeability, but rather trademarks.

You can perfectly, completely and accurately reproduce something that isn't trademarked. The design of a gun isn't trademarked, but the logo is.

Someone gave an example of a car. There are many very accurate reproductions of cars in anime and manga. It's fine if they are recognizable, the characters can even say "oh, look, it's a Porsche 911 GT4RS" but the artists can't show the Porsche logo.

So in the case of guns, the designers can accurately depict a gun, they can have the characters refer to it by name, but they simply can't show the trademark. With guns this isn't such a big deal because the logos generally aren't super pronounced on guns anyways.

It should be noted that car, gun, and any product design can be copyrighted. But using them in a work of fiction would be fair-use.

-t
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rinkwolf10



Joined: 05 Apr 2009
Posts: 750
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:32 pm Reply with quote
Anyone remember Cat Planet Cuties advertising A&W.

Or Pizza Hut in Railgun


Mr. Oshawott wrote:
If I correctly recall, I did see a can of "Dr. Popper" in Is This A Zombie a while back.


Along with the Dyson fan. I mean half of the first season depicted it as it was next to the table they sat at and sometime the camera angle was directly from the fan.



Last edited by rinkwolf10 on Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:44 pm; edited 3 times in total
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TsukasaElkKite



Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 3945
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:39 pm Reply with quote
Qoogle and Mindows OS and Pineapple OS Laughing
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Kadmos1



Joined: 08 May 2014
Posts: 13540
Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:44 pm Reply with quote
At least the USA has trademark fair use: descriptive is when you use it to describe a product whereas nominative fair use is for commentary, parody, and comparing ads. [/i]
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:58 pm Reply with quote
Hang on to your tl:dr hats, this is a topic near and dear to my heart. Very Happy 3,2,1, Let's Jam!

Cowboy Bebop has a ton of product placement, with a mix of real brands, altered brands, and fake brands. Of the latter, my favorite is in Sympathy for the Devil, where Ein's dog food can is labeled "One" with the numeral 1 as well. This is a triple pun on being the best dog food, Ein's name (German "one"), and "wan" the sound of a Japanese dog bark. If this is not an actual Japanese product name, it should be. Very Happy

The Bebop movie is a festival of all three types of products. The convenience store in the beginning alone boasts brand names like Pouy, Booning!!, Star Milk, OK MASH, No BoB, Sticks, Big; Soft, Clock, Pan, Power, Classics (instant cheesecake), and Look (brownies). These appear alongside Old El Paso taco sauce, Slice soda, and Duncan Hines cake mix.

I think everyone spotted the blatant Lucky cigarette pack in the opening credits, but Marlboro is also very well-represented, not only on packs of cigs, but signs for both brands everywhere in the movie. Also easy to spot is the "Kodac" sign and the Coca Cola awning on Moroccan street, plus the three old guys are drinking from Coke's distinctively shaped bottles. "Pudweiser, the King of Beers" can be seen, and both WacDonald's and McDonalds show up as well, along with the properly oriented Golden Arches by themselves in one background, which is weird. If they can do it in one scene, why not the whole movie?

What's a little less noticable is that Jet is drinking Starbuck's coffee at the drive in, and there are multiple bills advertising Law and Order on the wall behind Ed when she's calling Faye to tell her she found Lee. Considering the saturation level of L&O spinoffs we have now, that stikes me funny, the idea that it will still be airing in 2071, on other planets even. Very Happy

There's also a ridiculous amount of hidden brand placement of pool cue manufacturers! In episode 9, every ship on Ed's list of incoming ships (except the Bebop) is a designer pool cue brand name (e.g., Ginacue and Gus Szamboti Wink ) and the entire series is littered with these names. This obsession even carries over into the movie. Smile

I can't tell if Asics is an actual sponsor of Haikyuu!! or not, since the logo on their clothing is altered, and their shoes are missing a stripe, but Molten and Mikasa are in the credits, and Mizuno is absolutely in your face about their sponsorship of Ace of Diamond and DAYS.

Monster was also chock full of actual brand names, though those were altered for the international release (along with a lot of other inexplicable changes). For example, there was the Racke whiskey that was a key plot point, Werthers hard candies, and a bottle of Warsteiner beer left on a character's grave. The latter two were partially obscured even originally, but the artwork made the logos unmistakable. Also Eva was quite varied in her drinks, including Jack Daniels and Ben Nevis single malt. Smile There's even more such alcoholic placement in the manga.

Ok, I'll stop now. I could do this for days... Embarassed
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