Extreme Veteran
Posts: 406
Location: Hilltown, PA |
I am neither an attorney, nor an expert in the trademark field, but I do have some practical experience with this subject, and since no one else has spoken up I'll throw in my 2 cents.
Technically any time you reproduce something that is identifiable as belonging to another company or individual you need their permission to do so. Obviously there are all kinds of laws and regulations that govern these things (copyrights, trademarks, patents, etc) but for your purposes it's a question of enforcement.
The first question - is the Forward Look logo currently under copyright or trademark? Given that back in the 90's all the manufacturers decided to get a firmer grip on their intellectual property I would assume so.
Second question - will your friend be using the logo to make money? And by making money I mean will he be generating income (NOT profit) from using the logo? If he charges for the product the answer is yes. If his display of the product leads to him acquiring other paid work, then the answer is also yes. What it comes down to is wrther or not he benefits in some way from using the logo, as opposed to any other design.
Third question - will Chrysler care? Obviously if he makes a dozen of them and gives them to friends they probably won't. But if he makes a few hundred, and starts handing them around at car shows and flea markets he'll probably get their attention. Think not? Try this on for size - many years ago a friend of mine and I, as car enthusiasts, were pretty deep into the hobby - we owned cars, traded parts, and did work on other peoples cars as a side thing. So one day on a lark I asked a printer I knew to make up some business cards, something we could give to other guys and vendors that had our names and contact information. I had him put the big blue Mopar "M" in the center of the card and the made up name Chrysler Racing and Restoration. There was no such business, and we probably handed out maybe 20 of them over the course of a year. About 18 months later I got a "Cease and Desist" letter from Chrysler legal, and had to write them a letter explaining that there was no such company, and that the remainder of the cards had been destroyed. And had it notarized as per their requirements to avoid further investigation. Over 20 business cards.
The truth is most companies understand the idea of "casual use" by fans and enthusiasts, and for obvious reasons don't want to discourage that. I have a Calvin and Hobbes on my Desoto, and a Hobbes tattoo on my arm, and seriously doubt Bill Watterson or one of his agents will be chasing me down anytime soon. And if your friend should make a cool ceramic coin and make them available to members of this forum gratis, I'd probably ask for one and send him a few bucks just to say thanks. And I doubt Chrysler would ever be the wiser (or care if they were).
That being said it is well known on many forums (I've been a member of many) that manufacturers agents do monitor some of what goes on - sometimes regularly, sometimes rarely - depending on the forums subject, popularity, and activity level.
Just sayin . . .
Gregg |
Forward Look logo ?
DSCN7347.JPG (242KB - 96 downloads)
