Question about corporate business logos on our buildings

[tie]

Is it possible to get sued over using actual logos on 3d buildings. I made some shopping centers and was wondering if I released a freeware route with these, is there a possibilty of getting into trouble?

[charland]

Hi Rory,

Let's hope not or there will be a lot of us in trouble.

You're just as likely to start receiving checks in the mail for all the advertising you're doing for them.

Think the worst they could do is tell you to stop distributing the offensive material and you would have to ask Nels to remove the model from the library... then if you refused they might get pissed off enough to have a lawyer talk at you.

Paul :-)

[dwkarch]

I agree with Paul. Don't worry about it.

[conductorchris]

I think you should be legally protected, though I'm not a lawyer. But anybody can sue anybody regardless of if they have a case. Is it likely? Not at all. And if by some remote chance they did have a problem, first thing that would probably happen is you'd get a cease and desist order and you could choose to comply.
Christopher

[tie]

Ya because I just made a pretty nice mall which includes London Drugs, Bank of Montreal, Save On Foods etc. With all the stupid annoying ads on youtube and tv you would think it would be ok on 3d sim games. We are doing them a favor

[Literalman]

As long as you are not selling the items and not using the logos in a way that would get the company mad at you, you should have no difficulties.

If companies don't protect their trademarks, they can lose ownership of them. Letting somebody else sell products with their logo could be construed as not protecting them, and the companies' lawyers are likely to err on the cautious side.

[kclark1454]

The best thing to do is to go to the given company's web site and look up their legal name (e.g., Joe's Drugs, LLC). Do this for every sign you've included in your buildings.

Then in the FILE_ID and/or README that you distribute with your route, simply include the statement, "The name Joe's Drugs and the Joe's Drugs Logo are registered trademarks of Joe's Drugs, LLC, all rights reserved. Use in scenery objects considered 'fair use.' Their use here does not constitute endorsement on their part."

Basically then, if some corporate lawyer gets his undershorts in a knot, the most they'll do is demand that you remove them from the route.

[Karin 305]

If you want to make logo , the main thing is that it should be your own, like if you have a drinking items factory and you add the sign of Coke than it is against the law, because logos are the identity of a company. So try to make your own logo sign.

[eolesen]

Fixed a typo, Karin.

As kclark1454 said, there's a certain degree of leeway on using corporate logos.

If you're doing so in a non-disparaging way, aren't trying to imply an endorsement of your product by the owning brand, and aren't trying to profit thru an implied association with the owning brand, most companies won't care.

Some do, as others here have found out with attempts to use the Olympics logo and UPS's likeness on a reskin last year..

[Noisemaker]

Even with something like Coke - Wayne Campbell and Rich Garber used old logo's and posters of it on their L&PS and Canton routes respectively. I say the best way is to keep the companies integrity and represent them as they would represent themselves, past and/or present. The concern and offense is taken more when something is modified either humorously or fictionally. More harm is done with a tongue in cheek mod to say 'Drink Crap' or change the logo to neon green and hideous pink for a futuristic 'Skyview' route. It won't be everyone's 'cup of tea', be it company or loyal consumer then.