Monetizing Movie domains
- Thread starter nickster
- Start date
I am working on a similar project (television show) right now. I'm going with the content gateway and then probably some amazon links to the dvd's and whatever other crap merchandise is available - anyway I am wondering if anyone here has any input on the legalities of these sites? Movie names aren't trademarked and I'm linking out (not hosting) the actual vids, and essentially I'm calling it a fan site.
Does anyone know if this is (relatively) legit or not? I already launched the site but if there's anything I can do to avoid catching any heat (should there be any heat to avoid..) I would like to know.
BTW OP, shit or get off the pot - either would be more profitable than sitting around thinking about it. I bought the domain for this site this morning and I'm putting on the finishing touches right now. Tomorrow I'll start throwing links at it. These sites are mad easy and definitely have potential.
Does anyone know if this is (relatively) legit or not? I already launched the site but if there's anything I can do to avoid catching any heat (should there be any heat to avoid..) I would like to know.
BTW OP, shit or get off the pot - either would be more profitable than sitting around thinking about it. I bought the domain for this site this morning and I'm putting on the finishing touches right now. Tomorrow I'll start throwing links at it. These sites are mad easy and definitely have potential.
I use BHCB go look for it . Or you could use CPA LEAD or adscend media however those 2 pay way lower than using your own offers on BHCB
This.
Careful what domains you have. Bought a dell blog one time on SitePoint that had "Dell" in the domain name and a couple months later got a cease and desist from Dell saying to hand the domain over to Dell or get sued for 150k or something nuts. Wasn't worth the trouble over a $500 site so I just gave it to them.
Funny thing is the site was part of their Dell affiliate program so they already saw the domain and approved it which was running for well over a year. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing at these companies...
To be honest I don't care too much about copyright infringement stuff when it comes to something like this as I don't intend to pass-off and they would have to sue all the other sites out there with films in their title too (as well as celeb fansites etc.) and I am pretty sure they will have more on their minds than suing a small fansite. If I am wrong I would hand it over to them, but don't think that this is that much of a risk to even take in to consideration.
Dell on the other hand is a big corporation who need to protect their name at all costs.
Dell on the other hand is a big corporation who need to protect their name at all costs.
Trademarked names, like Dell, have a precedent of winning those sorts of cases before so the general consensus seems to be not to fuck with them. A movie or tv name doesn't get trademarked though and I think that is the real difference. But can anyone speak about what happens in that scenario? I guess they will probably just send you a cease and desist as well since litigation is expensive for everybody.
You're joking, right? Of course movie and tv show names are trademarked, not to mention character names, etc., etc.
I can't speak from personal experience because I've never had one of these sites, and lord knows there are a shit ton of them online.
But having MovieName.com is no different than having CompanyName.com or CompanyProduct.com - sometimes you get shut down, sometimes you can live blissfully off someone else's ignorance.
Insert foot in mouth - TV series names are usually trademarked, but single use film titles are not.
That being said, if you are posting content related to the movie - including stills, etc. that could very well be copyright protected and that would be enough for them to go after you.
From what I understand, they are indeed copyrighted, but I don't believe you can trademark a movie name - wouldn't it be copyrighted as IP or something? What I was saying is that historically companies have been shown preference when it comes to trademarked names but I'm not aware of this being the case with copyrights, although obviously there is a probable case for copyright infringement. So I'm saying that from what little legal knowledge I have, I think there is a difference between a trademark and a copyright, and how its handled legally with domain names and the subsequent content on the site.
Maybe that guy who did the legal questions thread in sts a while ago will chime in...
How come there are several films out there with the same name? e.g. Crash
Found a good article Movies with the same name. - By Jill Hunter Pellettieri - Slate Magazine
Found a good article Movies with the same name. - By Jill Hunter Pellettieri - Slate Magazine
Yeah, it's a very weird situation. And I sort of work in this industry.
What it boils down to is that the limited protection you can have for a movie title or TV show goes through the MPAA - it is not federally protected so much as it is a contract agreement signed by large studios and independent producers and production companies. It is almost entirely designed to protect films and companies from one another, and not outside businesses. And it clearly does not even do that well: in the article nickster posted they talk about David Cronenberg's Crash vs. Paul Haggis'.
But again, I think all of this is moot because if you are hosting files and content that's copyrighted, people can go after you. I don't know how rare/common it is. When folks have debated this on the forum before, I seem to recall that you'll get a "Cease & Desist" letter/email before anybody takes any serious action.
What it boils down to is that the limited protection you can have for a movie title or TV show goes through the MPAA - it is not federally protected so much as it is a contract agreement signed by large studios and independent producers and production companies. It is almost entirely designed to protect films and companies from one another, and not outside businesses. And it clearly does not even do that well: in the article nickster posted they talk about David Cronenberg's Crash vs. Paul Haggis'.
But again, I think all of this is moot because if you are hosting files and content that's copyrighted, people can go after you. I don't know how rare/common it is. When folks have debated this on the forum before, I seem to recall that you'll get a "Cease & Desist" letter/email before anybody takes any serious action.
I did this exact same thing with the Grand Theft Auto IV game. I bought the domain for it about a year before the release and would post updates, screen-shots and rumors about it. It ranked really well for most of the major keywords.
What kind of audience is the movie targeted at?
You might take a look at zip submits and stupid stuff like that.
I'd say if the movie is moderately successful, you could get 500 bucks a month from adsense from it. If you get a copyright or IP note, take it down and don't worry about it.
You might take a look at zip submits and stupid stuff like that.
I'd say if the movie is moderately successful, you could get 500 bucks a month from adsense from it. If you get a copyright or IP note, take it down and don't worry about it.
In terms of them going after you, it really depends on what type of content you are hosting. If you are linking out to sites that let you watch the content for free and you are ranking well (top10) for movie name you're crazy if you think they won't send you a C&D.
If you are just hyping the move, they will lick your fucking dick and cup your balls nicely. One site I run got an exclusive interview with the star of on of the movies in exchange for some advertising before opening week end. One of the PR guys told me he would keep me in the loop so I could make similar sites in the future if I promised to hook him up with some free publicity on the sites but I never heard from him again.
These sites are generally 9-10 months work and then a couple months (really a weekend or two) of major bankage and then drip drip drip until the DVD comes out and then major bankage and then zilch. Although every once and again the movies will appear on TV and you will get nice little pay days out of the blue.
Best idea is to build out a site, see if you enjoy it and if you do build a big list each time you launch a new site. Most people interested in one new movie are interested in them all so you can e-mail your list and be like "CHECK OUT DIS NEW MOVIE IT OPENS THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and link to your latest site and everybody flocks over. Then you bump in a few nice latest movies out on amazon in the footer and you make a nice amount!
I prefer to do this with tv shows that movies, although it's a little more work and sometimes for zilch (I fucking hate shows getting axed) other times it's WAY more profitable. Especially if you can pick up a show that gets like 5+ seasons then you can pretty much work on that full time.
If you are just hyping the move, they will lick your fucking dick and cup your balls nicely. One site I run got an exclusive interview with the star of on of the movies in exchange for some advertising before opening week end. One of the PR guys told me he would keep me in the loop so I could make similar sites in the future if I promised to hook him up with some free publicity on the sites but I never heard from him again.
These sites are generally 9-10 months work and then a couple months (really a weekend or two) of major bankage and then drip drip drip until the DVD comes out and then major bankage and then zilch. Although every once and again the movies will appear on TV and you will get nice little pay days out of the blue.
Best idea is to build out a site, see if you enjoy it and if you do build a big list each time you launch a new site. Most people interested in one new movie are interested in them all so you can e-mail your list and be like "CHECK OUT DIS NEW MOVIE IT OPENS THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and link to your latest site and everybody flocks over. Then you bump in a few nice latest movies out on amazon in the footer and you make a nice amount!
I prefer to do this with tv shows that movies, although it's a little more work and sometimes for zilch (I fucking hate shows getting axed) other times it's WAY more profitable. Especially if you can pick up a show that gets like 5+ seasons then you can pretty much work on that full time.