posted 02-02-2009 05:26 PM ET (US)            

quote:

---

infringement comes into play when you sell things with the logo on it, sell the logo itself, or misrepresent the trademarked/copy written logo, brand, or related products. If you have a logo made for yourself for personal you really have no worries.

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posted 02-02-2009 07:58 PM ET (US)            

This whaler logo is actually has a couple small things that make it a post classic Whaler logo. The files I have are from OEM classic graphics I scanned in and redrew.

Whaler Logo
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417158/4550.html

Also, some others people may have interest in.
Mercury
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417551/2339.html
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417551/25211.html
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417551/25212.html
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417551/25213.html

Evinrude
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417675/7325.html
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417675/41137.html

Johnson
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417741/1979.html
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417741/1980.html

OMC
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417782/48753.html

Mariner
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417823/7454.html
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79417823/56878.html

Suzuki
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79418089/161808.html

Yamaha
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/79418256/3713.html

posted 02-02-2009 08:21 PM ET (US)            

I make copyrighted material in both my job (software) and my
hobby (photography) and I respect other people's copyrights.

HOWEVER, what probably applies here is trademark law, not
copyright. "Boston Whaler" is a registered trademark, and
and if they haven't registered the "harpoon" they need a new
IP lawyer.

Finally, I'm pretty sure Janet ("draftsmanswife" here) at
magic brush has the appropriate agreements in place with BW
and can make your logos in most in any size.

posted 02-03-2009 10:05 AM ET (US)            

I have bought decals from Janis, they are of high quality, shipped on Whaler Wednesday's and produced with permission of Whaler. It was a pleasure doing business with her and I would encourage other member's to utilize her services.

posted 02-03-2009 11:54 AM ET (US)            

I not out selling anything with a logo, nor related to the logo. The calendar I sold was cleared through Traci Davis and legal and she provide me with the art but, that is all I have sold.

Decal production and sales your job. However, I do recreate a lot of files on my own files of all kinds of things. I do this for fun and keep them in my own database at home. I typically do this through scanning (sometimes photos), correcting of any distortions, and redrawing the file in illustrator. This has it has been very helpful in many different kinds of personal projects and restorations a have done. Some things are just not available any more as the files are no where to be found or the OEM has gone out of business. An example is an old Panasonic Road Race Bike I am going to start to restore. You can not get anything for that bike, period. You still being in business says a lot for you, your services, and Whaler's dedication to helping owners.

If people want OEM vinyl decals you are the source and I think real Whaler owners and lovers know that. I do see a lot of Whalers around with really bad graphics and it is an eye sore. That said while I do have my files, and could have created a set of vinyl decals for my Father however, I still sent him to you to purchase the decals he wanted for his Guardian. Why did I do that? Because, you are the one who makes the real OEM decals and you have a great outstanding reputation. You also went above and beyond to help replace his that was taken by his neighbor.

The link shown above is not my work and yes it is only the one side. A lesson on what style goes with what year would be a great topic of discussion. I have noticed through the years of looking the these boats a different placement of the word Boston in relation to the harpoon, placement and existence of the (C), as well as the S and maybe the O in Boston I think have changed as well.

posted 02-05-2009 06:38 AM ET (US)            

Respectfully Yours,

posted 02-08-2009 07:22 PM ET (US)         

Some folks have way too much time on their hands

posted 02-08-2009 11:57 PM ET (US)            

You are supposed to have permission, period.

posted 02-09-2009 12:52 PM ET (US)         

quote:

---

to those of you who boast about your ability to reproduce decals, etc., you have missed the point...

You are supposed to have permission, period.

---

LOL

You always make me laugh.

Thank you.

;-)

posted 02-09-2009 01:09 PM ET (US)            

Now if the Feej was to be putting Whaler logos on items he intends to sell, yes. But to have the Whaler logo manufactured so that he can be put it on his personally owned Whaler? No.

That would be like Harley Davidson going after an owner that has his gas tank air brushed with a mosaic that includes the HD name or logo. Not gonna happen.

posted 02-09-2009 02:57 PM ET (US)            

The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author's observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”
_____________________________________________

This thread is a very interesting one, with several competing but ethically sound positions being stated. Copyright, in this internet era, is perhaps the most fluid and changeable area of U.S. law. We'll just have to see how it shakes down in the future.

Without staking out a universal position on the ethics involved, my personal opinion is that one's own creation, employed for personal rather than commercial use, trumps any corporate claim to exclusivity, especially if we're talking about a corporate logo. I would have absolutely no problem doing as Feejer intends to do, without fear of lawsuits or prosecution; nor would I feel that I had violated some unassailable ethical standard. But that's just me. If, on the other hand, Feejer's activity involved ripping off an individual or small businessperson--as opposed to a corporation--I'd probably take another position. Yep...situational ethics, which always seems to rear its ugly head when we're talking about individuals versus corporations.

Good discussion, and I can't end my little piece without seconding all the good things which have been said about Janis and Magic Brush. Their reputation here is of the very highest, and long may they thrive. I'd certainly rather do business with them than with Brunswick; nor would I buy one of those cheap Ebay decals to save five or ten bucks when I could get quality from Janis.

posted 02-09-2009 08:09 PM ET (US)            

And fair use applies to copyright, not trademarks.

The interesting legal question is whether application of
a self-made trademark to something that the trademark
applies to is illegal. A more common example would be the
big chevy bow-tie emblems on some pickup trucks. Or
a bow-tie hitch receiver plug.

posted 02-09-2009 08:44 PM ET (US)            

Honestly who cares. I think Roy's models are great and if someone at Whaler really had a problem with him using their name and likeness for profit I am sure he would have heard something by now. To my knowledge he has not heard a thing.

What I am getting at is.....To me selling a model like that would be much more of an infringement yet no one says anything about that. What if some rebuilds a sport interior just for them self using the old parts as templates...does that violate intellectual property laws as Whaler designed that interior. Do those designs and intellectual rights belong to Whaler just as some would claim a vinyl logo to be?

The above example is one where someone is building something for themselves and not for profit. What about the people out there are rebuilding all kinds of parts for Whalers from old or modeled after OEM parts and profiting from it. What about the people out there selling hulls that were molded from old Whaler hulls? The list goes on and on.

posted 02-10-2009 12:09 AM ET (US)            

http://www.copyright.gov/reports/vhdpa-report.pdf

I do not believe the original Boston Whaler classic hulls can qualify for protection under the provisions of the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act because they preceded its effective date.

This gives us the curious situation in which it is legal to make a copy of the hull itself, but perhaps illegal to make a copy of the logotype on the hull.