I’ve been uploading logos of various car brands to the Maker World website for several months now, and now the problems have started. Three of my logos, namely Subaru Hyundai and Kia, have already been removed due to Intelectual Property Violation. I don’t understand why other people are uploading them, and they’re not disappearing. Is someone reporting me or is it just a coincidence? I don’t know what’s going on. Any ideas on what to do?
Typically action on MW is taken after complaints so likely someone reported your models.
It’s dangerous sailing with trademarked logos and such because they are protected. You might get away with using them and you may not. Apparently there are a number of companies that patrol here too. The plastic brick people for example.
That will happen, especially if you are only posting the logo. Porsche is probably the most strict out of all of them.
They do this because of how trademark law works. You are required to protect your IP (to a reasonable extent) or you can loose it.
Funny thing, is that the shape of a car is not protected. Its like when in movies or shows they will tape over or black out the badges in a way to protect themselves from paying licensing fees.
My idea would be to take the logos down and never upload anything that is trademarked again. They don’t want people combining their logos with demonic symbolism or child bad stuff, that’s why they trademark it.
Alternatively, you could contact these companies to license your use of their trademarks. They would certainly charge you and make it pretty complicated.
I’m a car enthusiast, and I made a 3D Lexus logo for myself to display on my desk. Then I thought maybe others would also like to have their brand logos displayed, and it actually works. Then I made pen and pencil stands for the logo, and that’s how it stayed. I didn’t mean to rip anyone off.
Besides, I see, for example, keychains with the logos of these brands and they are online all the time
the merchandise articles here in generell should be way much less…
clear… i like music and bands and brands and spongebob as well…
but im not a collector of anything… so i dont know…? maybe i just dont understand this merching stuff…??
but its full of it here and hard to overlook…
but like i said… thats just my thinking of this topic…
maybe im just not realy fully understand it when people like this stuff so much…??
Makerworld [this site] does not actively prune models for violations. You must be reported, by some other fleshy human user, or some automated process IP lawyers love to use. If no reports are received, your huge trademark violation gets to stay up. Until it gets one.
Im not defending it as a good system, its probably the worst, but read Section 230 on US IP law as it relates to content provider platforms, and you’ll understand why the internet all seems to work this way. Your company is only protected from being in the legal battle if you can PROVE that you are ignorant of the violation. So they design themselves to be provably ignorant. And now when you have to interact with makerworld support, and need to present a logical argument, it’s like interacting with the dumbest person imaginable because they have to be.
Some very simple rules:
Does it look like fan art? Do you contribute your own ideas? Is the logo more of an added bonus? Does the model work even without a logo? Do you make it clear that it’s not official? - Then it’s usually fine, most of the time.
Not always, though - Lego, for example, doesn’t want its logo to appear anywhere.
If you make it look official - using the official lettering and making the logo the main feature - for example, on a keychain. That’s a clear case of intellectual property infringement, because it’s no longer considered fan art in a gray area. As I said: Consider the overall context; whether it appears official can be a reason, but it doesn’t have to be.
The most important rule of all is this: Since it’s not your logo, you have no right - nothing at all. It sounds harsh, but that’s the way it is - that’s the risk. That’s why, as I said before, most people would advise against making another company’s logo the main feature.
Am I right in assuming that this is your account? When I search for your username, it takes me straight there:
…and it’s about these logos?
Let me put it this way: that’s a pretty dangerous gray area - almost 50% of your uploads consist of car logos.
If you’re wondering why this happened to you and not to others: These reports have to be filed proactively and don’t happen automatically. It could be a user, it could be a company - you never know - but it happens to others, too. After all, you don’t keep track of every model that suddenly disappears.
You can upload a lot of things, but whether they’ll stay is another question.
Let me put it this way. The logos look exactly as they do and are an addition to my desk organizer models. You can place any car logo in such a writing utensil organizer. That was the concept. Thank you for your detailed answer. I understood the context. Regards.
Don’t get me wrong: It doesn’t bother me, and you don’t have to justify. I’m just repeating how companies see it - sometimes, and sometimes not. If it were up to me, companies should be happy when people celebrate their logo, but then again, I’m no lawyer.
Take a look at this - it’s a similar topic and very current, although that one was about Mattel. You’re not the only one this happens to - it happens all the time. It’s just extremely delayed because the companies aren’t constantly checking, and makerWorld doesn’t actively filter content, which means that such designs often stay online for months, or even years.
Definitely a violation and not really much else to say. You dont own the rights to reproduce that mark.
Stop using intellectual property without having a license to use it?
Edit It could be worse, you could have Games Workshop legal representatives visiting your house! (It has been known to happen).
To contribute something constructive, I had an idea - just a suggestion:
Create parodies or variations instead of using the original logo. Here’s my poor attempt - but it’s enough to get the idea across: This gives a unique selling point, so don’t have to compete with others - and you also avoid infringements.
Here as a variation and homage to the company’s origins and name, the Dodge Brothers:
You’re driving down the road, the speed limit is 100 km/h, but you’re going 120 km/h. You are speeding. A bunch of other cars around you are also going 120 km/h. They are also speeding.
There’s a speed trap up ahead. The cop pulls you over and gives you a speeding ticket, because, again, you were speeding. They can’t pull everyone over at once, they’ll get the others another day.
Understand now?
Personally I usually ask the IP owner for non commercial approval before publishing any models with big company logos or names on them.
Some ignore the requests, some say NO.
But the occasional company does say YES..
When you apply for commercial license membership option, MW will review your portfolio and request removal of models that use logos (and probably other potential IP infringements) - that happened to me with just one model that was based on logos. I removed it and the commercial license option was granted to me.
Note that MW didn’t request to remove the model per se - only if I wanted to get the commercial license option, I needed to remove it.
It’s 3,280.839895013123 feet, or exactly 5,000,000/127 inches.
Actually, Porsche does have a three-dimensional trademark for the shape of the 911. Not sure what other companies may do the same.
Yeah, thats an exception to the rule though. Something like that has to be so iconic to be trademarked.
But thats because they havent changed the styling of the 911 since it originally came out.