Copyright and sales

[Cosmin Margau]

A friend of mine asked me a question the other day with regards to selling photos. If I take a photo of a car / bike / whatever and I want to sell prints / calendars with those shots, do I run into any copyright issues with the manufacturer? Say one of my shots is a detail shot of a Harley, and it contains the Harley logo, are there any legal requirements I must fulfill before I am able to sell it?

[Dennis Murray]

You need property releases...just like with a person you need a model release.

[Cosmin Margau]

From the owner of the bike or from the manufacturer?

What if the owner is unknown and it was just a snapshot I took on the street?

[John Thawley]

From the owner of the bike or from the manufacturer?

What if the owner is unknown and it was just a snapshot I took on the street?

You need to get specific with your project and you need to consult an attorney.

At the end of the day, it isn't a matter of what you do, it will be a matter of if it's contested.

JT

[Mike Ditz]

You need to understand the difference between Trademarks and Copyright. You would be in danger of Trademark violations not Copyright. If the bike is a stock bike that has nothing to trace it back to the owner there is less of a need for a property release than if it is a custom job that everyone can tell who it belongs to.
Trademark is another story.
Three companies who guard their Trademark with "enthusiasm" are Disney, the NFL and Harley Davidson. I would be very careful about selling anything like a calendar or poster with their TM'd products without their permission and paying what they ask for. Other companies are not so hyped up on it unless you either show their product in a poor light or make a boatload of money off of it.

Selling art prints (one off fine art) would be a different case but JT is right about getting the opinion of a lawyer

[Cosmin Margau]

Thanks for the information, it's greatly appreciated!