Question about business I want to start

[flishess]

I'm considering setting up a subscription based gaming themed template site.

Technically, the templates are "free" however I charge a subscription/membership fee for offering the service. (hosting the files, providing the bandwidth to download them, etc)

I want to use images from fansite kits that gaming companies provide for building "fansites" for their games.

I'm not sure about the legality of it though.

I see websites all over the place selling gaming themed templates using the games images. (logos, screenshots, wallpaper, artwork, etc.)

The difference is they actually sell the templates and I plan to sell a membership that gives you access to all the templates.

If anyone can provide some insight it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[nielsencl]

- The best thing is to ask permission from the copyright holder of the images you want to use. If you are in some way promoting what they offer, they should be happy to let you use the images. They will also remember you because you were professional enough to ask them, where most people don't.

- If you take the images and "modify" them, it may be allowed under "fair use" rules. Do some searches for "fair use" of copyrighted materials to see what they say.

- If you see the same images used on other sites, it may be safe to also use them, but keep in mind that a copyright holder could ask you to remove them at any time. They could also take legal action against you, but that is very unlikely if you state on your site who owns the images.

 

[THost]

You definitely want get permission from the original owners of the content if you're about to use and possibly profit from it. If you're thinking long term, everything you do must be done legitimately. Perhaps even looking to get custom templates made for your site in the future if the investment seems worthy.