COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT BY CHRYSLER?

By Daniel Davidson

The Big Game (I will attempt to not use any of the words that you are banned from using in a commercial during football’s final event) does not just draw crowds for the battle of two teams scrapping for the glory of number 1.  The game also attracts because of the zillion dollar commercials.  With over 100 million viewers, companies make sure they create a lasting impression in their commercials. 

The past few years, Chrysler has made some epic commercials which last approximately 2 minutes.  This year, they used Clint Eastwood to narrate a commercial that refers to the American economic downturn as “halftime.”   Portraying Detroit and their losses due to the financial crisis, Clint gives hope for a new tomorrow, or “second half.”  Unfortunately, the commercial almost didn’t see a second half.

In the subsequent days since the game the G-Men won a silver trophy, Chrysler made the commercial available on their YouTube page.  The page featured interactive buttons to share the commercial on social media sites.  This would be cool and all except for the fact that instead of a commercial, there was a notice which read, “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by NFL Properties, LLC.”

NFL Properties, LLC is a subsidiary of the National Football League, Inc. which handles its trademarks and such (I have lost my attempt at refraining from using words not allowed in Super Bowl commercials).

I went ahead and watched the commercial multiple times to see what, if any, part of the commercial could infringe upon an NFL copyright.  In my attempt, I found none.  I am sure many others have done the same.  This is probably why the commercial has been reinstated on Chrysler’s YouTube page.

Did the NFL maybe believe they were the owners of the rights to the commercial since it was aired during the Super Bowl?  Maybe they thought they owned the rights to the word “halftime?”  Nonetheless, it seems that the NFL has retracted their copyright infringement claim, for now.  Cheers.