Emojis[1], pictographs usually depicted as colorful cartoons, are an extremely popular worldwide form of expression and communication used in online conversations, social networks and emails. There is even an emojipedia for explaining the different meanings of each emoji.
They became available in 1999, on Japanese cellphones, hence the origin of the word, which is in Japanese means[2]:
絵 (e ≅ figure) 文 (mo ≅ written) 字 (ji ≅ character)
In 2007, Apple launched its first iPhone, and just like Google, they realized that they needed to become more competitive in the Japanese market. Soon afterwards, both companies were providing emojis in their devices, which were initially restricted in the Japanese market. However, they would soon be discovered by American users fascinated by the technology[3].
Since then, the use of emojis has grown exponentially in the whole world. So much that in 2015 the [4] was elected as the word of the year by the Oxford dictionaries[5].
Under these conditions, it would not be long before publicity agencies would see the use of the emoji as a new way to communicate with younger generations. Consequently, many companies tend to think that because these images are everywhere, their use is free, which is not true. Because they entail authorship[6] and a code[7], copyright law protects emoji.
HOW TO USE EMOJIS FOR PRODUCTS AND PUBLICITY
Since 1989[8], projects in the United States have been underway to standardize codes used over the internet. In 1991, the unification of these ideas originated the Unicode Consortium, a non-profit organization whose members are large technology companies, countries, universities, among others[9].
When companies such as Apple and Google included emojis in their operational systems, they became part of the Unicode Standard.
This standard allows the code U+1F60E or [10], for example, to be interpreted the same way by different operational systems. Nevertheless, the drawing of the emoji, despite being based on the same black and white symbol of Unicode, is the authorship of each brand that created it.
Therefore, the emoji code is property of Unicode and the colored drawing is property of the operational system or platform that makes it available[11]. This means that when an advertising agency or a clothing company, for example, decides to reproduce, edit, adapt or use an emoji in its advertising campaigns or prints, they must search for available licenses[12] (if any) or ask for authorization[13] from the brand that created the colored design.
There is yet another option for companies or people interested in using representations of emojis for other purposes that have not yet been made available by their creators: it is possible to convey desired feelings or situations by creating your personal representations.
Thus, the brand or the individual will still be transmitting a message without infringing on copyrights. For example, the copyright law[14] does not protect the idea of the smiley face with dark sunglasses. However, because only images will be produced, there will be no relationship with the code supplied by Unicode.
HOW TO CREATE APPLICATIONS OR SOCIAL NETWORKS THAT MAKE EMOJIS AVAILABLE
If the idea of a company, or a potential entrepreneur, is to make an emoji available for its platforms or operational systems, three options are seen.
The first option is to become a member of the Unicode Consortium. To do this as a company, it is necessary to spend between $2,500 and $18,000 per year[15], depending on the size of the company and the interest of the organization. There are discounts for affiliations lasting more than one year.
Only the following companies, which participate in the Unicode Consortium, have their own emojis that are linked to the same code: Apple, Google, Twitter, Facebook, Samsung, Windows and Emoji One. This allows them all to be interpreted in the same way on all of the aforementioned operating systems and platforms.
If each company had its own code for [16] by the beginning of 2017, we would have the following situation: a sender using WhatsApp[17] would send [18] from their iPhone to a Samsung smartphone, but the recipient would only receive a code.
However, creating your own emoji is also an option. Skype, for instance, has its own emojis, that is, codes not in line with the Unicode Standard. This means that these emojis are only understood within their own platforms, unless they are copied as images and not codes, which in this case would disqualify them as emojis.
Finally, the company has the option of using emojis created by other companies[19], as long as they are not tied with the Unicode Consortium. Some companies, like Apple, do not make their licensing terms publicly available, for that reason, it would be more prudent to contact them directly before misusing any of their emojis.
Unlike Apple, other companies such as Emojidex, Twitter and Google make their terms of licensing available for their emoji. In the same way, Emoji One makes their emojis available for free use by means of a Creative Commons[20] license. These emojis can be used freely in digital form, in print form, or even, as an image for commercial ends as discussed in the previous topic, provided that the organization is given its due credit, as it was in this article.
CONCLUSION
People are increasingly using emojis to express themselves, which makes them attractive to publicity agencies and for the development of new products or services.
As we have demonstrated in this article, it is legally possible to use emojis for commercial ends, as long as copyright is respected.
