EMD Copyright Laws

RiverRun

New member
Thought I'd show this. EMD's new owner is on the warpath for anyone selling things with the EMD logo or trademark.

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Union Pacific were big plicks like this too ... and wanted all UP logos and HO Moder RR trainsets pulled from the market.

I think it's good free advertisement ... Maybe someone seeing the asset would be impressed, and want to go out and buy a Bulldozer or Locomotive.
 
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Union Pacific were big plicks like this too ... and wanted all UP logos and HO Moder RR trainsets pulled from the market.

I think it's good free advertisement ... Maybe someone seeing the asset would be impressed, and want to go out and buy a Bulldozer or Locomotive.

Right now I think it's grumpy legal department people who see nothing more than copyright violations in the industry and they'll be going after the other modelers as well including Athearn and others.

I agree this is good advertising for them, and I think UP finally gave up and had the model manufacturers purchase the logo from them for something like $20 or less. It is not uncommon for companies to sell their artwork for commercial use, perhaps EMD has their artwork for sale. The reason is to ensure that the integrity of the artwork and design is kept up. They don't want a knock-off poor copy, Paintshed redraw :hehe: of something that should be EMD. They want to ensure the drawing and colors are as accurate as they can.

The only problem is that if they take their guns out of their holsters, instead of just using legal speak, this might be a bigger issue because of the plethora of EMD model locomotives out there, and not just reskins of models with an EMD logo on it.

John
 
Call their bluff... If you're not profiting from their logo is it really worth their time.

Hold out until someone comes knocking on your door for you.
 
Call their bluff... If you're not profiting from their logo is it really worth their time.

Hold out until someone comes knocking on your door for you.

Good point. Hopefully they'll see that 99.9999% of the content out here is either so low a dollar amount, or is free anyway.

John
 
You might want to erase the address from the letter. I had no idea anyone else was in Beavercreek also, though.

Bill
 
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Among other things, this will end F40PH Fridays. Which is, in my opinion, a silly fictional holiday.
 
far as i know he wasn't selling anything, but had pdf copis of EMD locomotive manuals on that site. that is a little bit different than being on the warpath for items being sold with the logo or trademark.

not that i agree with this needless attack, the manuals were a great source of historic information and were not being misused in any way i can think of.
 
I send an email to the above address but not as spam. What do you all think of the text? If others do similar, not sending as spam but as a genuine concern regarding us using some of the trade marks she represents, who knows, it might help some.

This is what I send to her email address:

Hi, how little minded you people are, chasing after little people (Fallen Flag web site) who think they are only doing the right thing by displaying OLD locomotive maintenance manuals (just an example) for others to read that do modelling, say, in railroad simulations (also an example only) to see how, say, engine specifications are meant to be etc. and you and the corporations you represent prohibiting their logos display on such manuals. Where else can someone get such information as the relevant companies using these trade marks and logos FLATLY REFUSE ANY information whatsoever to be given out when contacting these?

Believe me, I tried with several of the companies YOU represent. How trivial we little people are to you and the BIG PROFIT ONLY minded corporations. Why not sell the right to display any of the logos YOU represent? Union Pacific Rail Road tried to ban the display of their various logos in the past too, they even went to court regarding this and what was the end result? They spend huge sums of money chasing this impossible task and FINALLY GAVE UP and now SELL the right to display their various logos for use by say, rail road modders for train simulations for very little, some measly $US 20.00. Would that not be better for your people, the corporations you represent? Instead of chasing us little people like the "Fallen Flag" web site who do NO harm by ONLY displaying your represented logos and who surely do not get ANY financial gain out of doing this. But on the other hand, by also getting the logos YOU represent very PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED in various different railroad simulations which usually have a HUGE following and hence are therefore very heavily advertised at NO COST to the corporations YOU represent. I for example subscribe to a particular RailRoad Simulation (a computer simulation) which has OVER 250 000 registered members, can you see how advantageous this can work for your clients and the corporations you represent?

I could understand IF, say, I have a second hand Komatsu bulldozer and for some reason I paint the Caterpillar logo over the Komatsu logo when trying to sell it. Although as the Komatsu is a much better product (hehe, I had to say this!!!) and as I would be liable for copyright fraud as well as "shooting myself in the foot" by doing so, you would have ALL rights to come after me.

Or are YOU and the corporations YOU represent ONLY after chasing the almighty dollar, from WHEREVER you people think YOU might possibly be getting it? Well, I live in Australia, thank goodness and not OVER THERE in your stuffed up country and I will reserve MY RIGHT of possibly, nay, I should say, NEVER EVER buying or using ANY of the products YOU and the CORPORATIONS with the logos YOU represent should you and the corporations you represent go ahead with this insane and should I say very likely IMPOSSIBLE task.

Give it some thoughts.

------------------------------------------------

Cheers

VinnyBarb
 
I think it might be better to just ignore them and stay off the radar? Send her all the emails you want to annoy her but I would not reference the fallen flags web site. This just might give her incentive to bump them a couple of spots on her priority list.

I'm sure her strategy is to scare them. She really doesn't want to take the time out of her day to pursue this if she doesn't has to. I'm sure she has bigger things to pursue that might put a feather in her hat than this.
 
There is a legal reason for their action. I think hoover is now generic because they did not enforce their copyright.

The normal thing is to issue a license for a nominal fee which legally means the copyright is being respected.

Cheerio John
 
A fallen flag railroad, and it's paint scheme, is no longer used by today's railroad corporations. I want to know how a paint scheme is considered intellectual property, even though that scheme is no longer used.

Norfolk Southern and CSX would not exist without Conrail, a tax payer funded railroad finally sold to them. Conrail is a tax payer subsidized entity.

Union Pacific would not exist without tax payer subsidies.

These railroads claim trademarks yet they all receive special treatment from government tax payer funds. If they are so high and mighty, cut their government taxpayer funded breaks to exist. The railroad administration exacts a yearly toll on the taxpayer to fund their operation only to claim ownership of railroads that do not exist anymore that we gave them taxpayer dollars to absorb.

Dave........
 
John Whelan is quite right. We not only clean up messes with hoovers, we also take warm drinks to work in thermoses, make xerox copies with Toshiba copiers, and wipe our noses with kleenexes when we have a cold.

Still, the letter reproduced in the OP has the ring of a computerized form to it. The "writer" has included stock paragraphs pertaining to trademark and copyright, which are two different things governed by strikingly different laws. It would be interesting to know which they really mean.

Bernie
 
"Crystal" is out of the office from the 19th to the 25th according to the rejection notice I got for my email. That's a typical response.

Bill
 
When she gets back, I'm sending her my profile picture from Match.com, and asking her for a date.

That should put an end to all this nonsense, unless the paramedics are able to revive her...:eek:
 
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