decals

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TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
Apr 14, 2006
4,073
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Rancho Santa Margarita, Cali.
Does anyone know if you can get into trouble if you make decals for freight companies in the US. (SAIA Motor Freight, UPS, ROADWAY, YELLOW Freight and so on) I already have them made up for 28', 40', 45', 48', and 53' trailers and truck cabs in HO Scale and I was planning on selling them on e-bay, but I don't know if I could get sued by the freight companies.

Can anyone help me out???
 
2-8-2

2-8-2

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Jan 6, 2005
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You were okay until you mentioned reselling them...especially on e-Bay.

If you were going to make these decals for personal use on your layout, even to distribute to a couple friends, you'd be fine. But reselling a company's trademark, especially on e-Bay is a big no-no. UPS isn't going to sue you for having a few brown trucks on your layout at home, but don't try to make a profit from their logo. It's against the law.

e-Bay has strict policies when it comes to things like this, and they will remove your auction.
 
ezdays

ezdays

Out AZ way
Feb 3, 2003
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bigbluetrains.com
Asking the company is the way to go if you are intent on selling them, but don't be surprised if they ask you for drawings, sample product, sales projections and royalty fees in addition to signing a contract. Chances are they won't because it isn't worth their time to monitor what your doing, but they are going to be very protective of how their logos are being used so they may just say "no".

Just remember, if you send in a request and they don't answer right away, that doesn't mean you can proceed. The absence of a "yes" in writing is still a "no".

Keep us posted on what's going on, this is interesting and it would be nice to know how it turns out.
 
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eightyeightfan1

Now I'm AMP'd
Jun 18, 2002
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UPS doesen't like private companies using thier logo. So bad that they won't even liscence them...Except if your name is Dale Jarrett, and they can make money off his liscened products. They have been known to let a "few" collectibles out though, but thats the exception..not the rule, and are usually handout freebies for customers.
I have made frieght cars using local company's logos, but they are for my own use, and I get the old "thats Cool!' when visitors seem them on the layout.
 
2-8-2

2-8-2

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Jan 6, 2005
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Pitchwife said:
If you alter your decals slightly so that it isn't the exact logo but something similar, you should get away with it. One notable example is the "Dairy King" model. Close to Dairy Queen but not an infringement on their name.
Click to expand...

This is walking a fine line, and could be dangerous as well. Coca-Cola was notorious for sending knock off companies who tried to imitate their name and logo into bankruptcy. If you took the Dairy Queen logo and just changed the name to "King", you're not going to get away with it for long. Even if the colors and font were modified, you're still walking on thin ice.

If you're determined to sell trademarked logos (like UPS, Roadway, etc.) then it's best to do as Don mentioned, and seek written permission. But also as he already mentioned, the cost involved for both you and the companies likely won't be benefitial to either of you. It's almost certain that either a flat licensing fee or royalties based on sales would have to be kicked back to the companies involved.
 
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Gil Finn

Active Member
Aug 28, 2005
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I dont think you would generate any interst with or from these companies but you might with people who have paid licencing fees to do so.

I see these tructs on ebay all the time.

But you might give it a shot and see.

About all that would happen is you get a letter from a lawyer.
 
T

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
Apr 14, 2006
4,073
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36
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Rancho Santa Margarita, Cali.
I just sent a couple of e-mails to some companies about using there names and I am waiting for them to respond.

Ya, I have seen quit a few on e-bay. There was a guy that was making decals and putting them on trucks and then selling them for around $10.00 to $20.00 but then he got a ton of negatives for not sending the goods and got kicked off from e-bay.

I was planning on printing them on Microscale trimfilm and selling them as decals instead of on the trucks.

I guess ill wait and see what happens. I'll keep you guys posted when I get more info.:)
 
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