Pontoon Wrap with Collegiate Logo...What Would You Do?

[westpointsigns]

I just got a call about wrapping the rail panels around the deck of a 22' long pontoon.

Quoted they guy a ballpark figure, then he drops the "I want it to have a collegiate team logo (the team only has an "N" on their helmets) and everything that goes with the team in the design.

I told him I couldn't do it due to licensing issues, then he asked if I knew of anyone else that would do it. So I gave him the number to the largest commercial signage company in the area. I figure they might have enough lawyers to tackle the Collegiate Licensing people.

What would you have done?

 

[Pat Whatley]

Local licensing from Collegiate Licensing is $100. Holograms, school royalties and such will set you back another $100. Do that and you're good to go.

 

[westpointsigns]

It's not quite that cheap Pat.

http://www.clc.com/Licensing-Info/Timelines-and-Costs.aspx

 

[JBusch260]

Tell him you'll wrap the panels, but without the logo. Have him find some other sucker that will do the logo separately, and most likely illegally, and put it on later (just in case he'll ever need to remove the logo).

 

[Mosh]

I live down the road from the team with an "N" on their helmets....it stands for "knowledge"!!! HA HA.

They watch the area for knock off Husker stuff, I know a few guys who got a letter from their lawyers...never heard much more than that.

 

[rjssigns]

It's about 5 grand to get a full license. Friend of mine did it a few years ago. He makes custom wall and desk clocks.

 

[SightLine]

Go to the local shop that sells all the licensed stuff like decals, t-shirts, etc and get a few of the largest decals they have that are already licensed. Use the colors of the university (you can do that all you want) and make a nice stripe design incorporating the off the shelf logo decals. Print it and apply the store bought logos to the print before laminating. Then they are protected from the elements (because you know the store bought decals are crap quality material with likely zero UV protection) and part of the overall design.

I've done a pontoon in the exact manner before. That way you are staying legal using officially licensed logos. They can only make the product licensed, they have no say in what you can do with it after you have bought it..... fair use laws cover that. Disney has tried going after companies for doing this and lost.

 

[HDvinyl]

then he asked if I knew of anyone else that would do it

Ask if he knows anyone that will break the law for YOU.

 

[Pat Whatley]

It's not quite that cheap Pat.

http://www.clc.com/Licensing-Info/Timelines-and-Costs.aspx

Not that I'm an authority by any means but the ONE licensed vehicle job we did was less than $200. They understand "one time use", it's not like you're about to print 10,000 t-shirts. I've also heard of people doing it as subcontractors of licensed shops.

Of course none of that matters. You tell the customer there will be $400 in fees tacked onto their order for licensing and they'll just go to the guy down the street who will do it without worrying about license fees.

 

[visual800]

I wouldnt worry about any of this stuff cause he aint gonna have that damn boat wrapped anyway. We get a few of these calls and i have quoted only two and the others that call after that get told not interested

 

[Pat Whatley]

I've done a pontoon in the exact manner before. That way you are staying legal using officially licensed logos. They can only make the product licensed, they have no say in what you can do with it after you have bought it..... fair use laws cover that. Disney has tried going after companies for doing this and lost.

I think you're thinking of "FIRST SALE DOCTRINE", not fair use.

Between First Sale, Fair Use, Derivative Works, Licensing Exclusions, Trademarks, and Copyright law I'm willing to bet that the person with the most money to throw at a lawyer will win.

(one of the few exceptions I've ever heard of was the Disney case you mentioned where a judge pretty much handed Disney its *** and kicked them out of the courtroom for suing a woman over making pillows out of Disney fabric and selling them at flea markets. That case was interesting to me because they said that woman could buy the fabric, make the pillows, and sell as many as she wanted. She could not, however, sell them to a store and then have the store resell them.)

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

Pretty sure if you make money (or not) using a trademarked college logo without their permission...it's considered "Illegal".