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[tdub]

I have started a news site, and while many people just say to start posting without any real legal information, I wanted to see what you guys thought.

My site reports news on video games and movies. First, is it okay for me to post trailers of movies and video games without consent, even if I give the credit of the video to the company that made the trailer? Also, when I write something that I see some other site has reported, can I say what they said without saying where I got the information from? For example, if a release date is given, do I have to say that "according to such and such, the videos game will be released..."? And if they are reporting that Activision (the game maker) said the game will be released on whatever date, do I say that Activision said or do I say that "This news site said that Activision said"? Is this not considered common knowledge?

Basically, I'm quite confused on the whole matter and would greatly appreciate some clarification.

[Zonath]

No, it is not legal to post trailers of movies and video games without consent.  You would need to obtain permission in order to do so without infringing the copyright of the creator of those works.  Many movie and game studios post contact information for people who want to get permission to use their promotional materials, so it may not be that tough a process to get permission.

As far as reporting facts (or even rumors), copyright law doesn't typically cover bare facts, so if you wanted to report that the movie/game was coming out on such and such a date, that would probably not implicate any issues of copyright infringement.  At the same time, you may be violating some code of professional ethics by not attributing, which might not have a legal implication, but could end up impacting your reputation.

[tdub]

No, it is not legal to post trailers of movies and video games without consent.  You would need to obtain permission in order to do so without infringing the copyright of the creator of those works.  Many movie and game studios post contact information for people who want to get permission to use their promotional materials, so it may not be that tough a process to get permission.

As far as reporting facts (or even rumors), copyright law doesn't typically cover bare facts, so if you wanted to report that the movie/game was coming out on such and such a date, that would probably not implicate any issues of copyright infringement.  At the same time, you may be violating some code of professional ethics by not attributing, which might not have a legal implication, but could end up impacting your reputation.

Are you sure that me putting up trailers as news (a new trailer) isn't considered fair use? Thank you for your answer btw.

[artchain]

Are you sure that me putting up trailers as news (a new trailer) isn't considered fair use? Thank you for your answer btw.

That's actually an interesting questions.  If you are writing a review of a movie, you could include a short excerpt as part of your review.

But the trailer is a creative work in its own right, which you would be copying in its entirety, and you are not reviewing the trailer.

In any case, it's probably simple enough to get permission.  Remember, the studios WANT to get their stuff out there.  I remember my high school newspaper asking for (and getting) tons of photos and stuff from studios, so the bar is pretty low!

[Zonath]

Are you sure that me putting up trailers as news (a new trailer) isn't considered fair use? Thank you for your answer btw.

Absolutely.  Even 'legitimate' news outlets need to get permission to use copyrighted work, even if that copyrighted work contains footage of an actual newsworthy event.  See the following linked cases (both regarding films of the Reginald Denny assault during the 1992 LA Riots) for a discussion of some of the fair use issues in cases of actual and substantial newsworthiness:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/cases/149_F3d_987.htm
http://openjurist.org/108/f3d/1119/los-angeles-news-service-v-kcal-tv-channel