parody of song lyrics on tshirt

[Chris Humphries]

Jurisdiction

Washington

Hi, I have a marketing company and we are partnering with athletes to promote their NIL on t-shirts. The shirts stand out because they are really creative. In this case, I have created a parody of some popular song lyrics to apply to the athlete and their performance. The song is Back in Black by AC/DC and the shirt title is Jack in Black. The lyrics are virtually all different words so the only way you could suspect it is a parody is the phrasing style and some similar rhyme patterns. No music, just a section of lyrics with new words and rhymes. Would this be legal to sell on a tshirt (with the licensing of the NIL for the athlete?).

Thanks...Chris

 

[Zigner]

You may (probably will) get information from this forum, but think about it. All the advice from random internet strangers with no direct knowledge of your situation will pale in comparison with the advice from an attorney who has knowledge of the full facts of your matter. This is too important and, potentially, costly to trust to random strangers. You need to run this by your attorney.

EDIT: This is further complicated by the fact that making a mistake could adversely affect the athletes involved as well.

 

[army judge]

This blogger "splains" it for you.

3 of the Most Commonly Misunderstood Music Copyright Laws
...

 

[zddoodah]

I have created a parody of some popular song lyrics to apply to the athlete and their performance. The song is Back in Black by AC/DC and the shirt title is Jack in Black.

That's not a parody.

Would this be legal to sell on a tshirt (with the licensing of the NIL for the athlete?).

The only way to know for sure is to have an intellectual property attorney review it.

 

[Chris Humphries]

That's not a parody.



The only way to know for sure is to have an intellectual property attorney review it.

If all of the words and rhymes are changed to tell a different storyline and no music is used - what do you call that? It is inspired by the work but completely different.

 

[adjusterjack]

Here's the best advice you'll ever get, other than consult an attorney.

1 - If you sell these shirts for money, consult an attorney. Better yet, get consent and buy a license from the owners of the music.

2 - If you give the shirts away for free, it becomes more iffy. A slight chance of skating on the parody angle. Worst case scenario your get a cease and desist letter and you end up destroying all the shirts.

But, hey, I'm just an anonymous guy on the internet who might or might not know anything about copyright law.

Ask me about insurance and I'm your man. LOL.

 

[zddoodah]

If all of the words and rhymes are changed to tell a different storyline and no music is used - what do you call that?

Slap whatever label you like on it. A parody is created to imitate or comment on an original work, its subject, author, style or some other target by means of satiric or ironic imitation. See, e.g., Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994).

As I wrote before, the only way to know for sure how much risk you face is to have an intellectual property attorney review what you're making.