DFerguson777
Member
I want to cast a Mountain Dew label pen for my wife. She is hooked on the Dew. If I wanted to sell it would that be "legal" since it is a trademark of a company?
-Denny- NC
-Denny- NC
I am not a lawyer or anything, but I think if you are not marketing it for resell then there would be no infringement.
What would they sue for???? Giving them free advertising??? How could they claim damages??They usually have to pay to get their name on/in other folks products. I think they would be happier than pigs in mud to get people to put their name on pens for free.Ha!!!! Ed, I don't think thats what he meant!
I'm sure that selling them would be trouble.... I doubt that it would end you in jail, but I think there is 'lawsuit' type issues possible.
Dean
It would still be an infringement, but the fact that it isn't being sold would
be taken into account when setting damages. It would not eliminate the
damages, it would just be taken into account.
Is it likely that they would sue over a gift? No.
But that's not the same as it being legal.
What would they sue for???? Giving them free advertising??? How could they claim damages??They usually have to pay to get their name on/in other folks products. I think they would be happier than pigs in mud to get people to put their name on pens for free.
I thought I read in another thread that using company logos in art is not illegal. I think it was in a thread about using things such as bottle caps to make pens. I could be wrong, though.
The argument could be made that it's brand dilution since the owner of the mark could not control how it was utilized.
I used to create classic VW digital paintings. I was sued for brand dilution because the APPEARANCE of the vehicle diluted VW's brand. I spoke to 3 lawyers who all said the same thing: I had a 50/50 chance in court, but it would cost me $$$$$$$ to fight.
Well, People make airplanes out of aluminum cans all the time. I have never had an issue.
The law is complicated. I have seen all sorts of stuff made with Brand name items. I have even seen shadow boxes put together with Coca Cola memorabilia. A trade mark Logo and that sort of thing is very complicated. If you print or reproduce it, paint it, or whatever you are in violation of laws. Sort of like only the owner of the logo can make the logo. But when they do make it and place it on a can, they then sell you that can. They also sold you the Logo that is on it. At that point you own that individual print of the logo and can do with it as you please. Now I think that if your Dew Pen got so popular that it might be produced in enough numbers that it could effect the reputation of Mountain Dew, They may have reason for recourse. I still think that if you where buying a can for every logo they could not do anything about it. they got their dime for the logo with the sale of the drink.
At worse I am wrong and in actual practice they would at most contact you to stop selling pens with their Logo on them. If you then ignore that they can and will take further action. They have full time Lawyers and need to keep them busy somehow.
But think about it. if it is illegal to make something from a soda can that you paid for. It would be illegal for me to use a piece of that can as a shim for the tail stock of my lathe. This simply is not the case. It would also be illegal for anything to be made with any companies packing materials. this is also not true.
Damages must be proved, and I'm not sure you could convince a jury that Pepsico was damaged by someone using a piece of a Mountain Dew label in the body of a pen....
The driving force behind these type of lawsuits is protection of intellectual property. If companies don't act to protect their intellectual property, they run the risk of loosing their property rights. If they give too many people a pass on use of their property, even low volume folks like us, they run of being unable to protect themselves from some high volume guy coming along and trying to sell a lower cost version of their core product.
Similarly while you may choose to incorporate their trademark into some craft work in a tastefull way that would be good free marketing for them, someone else might use their trademark in a defamitory fashion. If they let you get away with it, then they risk loosing the right to go after defamitory use.
This leaves companies in the unfortunate position where they might look at your use and privately say "Cool!, That guy loves our producs and made a neat looking work of art using them." But publically have to attack to protect themselves from from someone else who may use the intellectual property with hostile intent.
I think you're confusing two issues or missing the point on one of them.
I've seen nothing in this discussion that makes a case for Fair Use, so the
first question "Is this legal?" would clearly be answered "no". The trademark
doesn't belong to you, you don't have the legal right to use it.
The second issue is "What would it cost me?" They may not be able to
recover anything from your 'profits', especially if there aren't any. But for
you to get to court and show no profit would mean you're probably already
in the hole for tens of thousands for their legal expenses plus your own.
They own the trademark and they must defend it or lose it. If you use it
without permission, you'd be found guilty and be liable for the legal costs.
I'm sure they don't use Legal Aid..
Smitty , before you go betting the farm on this one read this thread http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60517&highlight=mont+blanc and the linked thread in post #13 . A company can retain control of the use of their name even after you buy their product , and even if they loose you can still end up paying thousands in lawyers fees so you loose anyway .
Nope...if they sue me they must prove that they suffered damages. They have to show that not only did I misuse their property but that they were in fact, damaged by that use.
Second, as long as what I use in my craft is an actual can or something that I purchased (and not a reproduction of their logo) they can't sue at all because they sold it to me and it is mine to use as I see fit. They can't prevent me from using their can for some other purpose than holding soda pop.