Custom T-Shirts

That image is probably already for sale on a t-shirt.

 

Any company worth a damn may not print that for the legal issues with Southpark. I spent a few months trying to get Porsche to OK a few shirt designs, they even limited the amount of shirts and were in contact with the shirt company.

 

You couldn't use any images of a porsche even if you downloaded them off of the internet? I thought as long as they were not copyrighted, you could use them without the companies consent. I have a similar idea and have alot of images from the net. They do not have any company logos or have a copyright stamp on them anywhere. Does that mean I still can't use them?? Thanks.

 

My issue was I was doing it for a Porsche club, the man in charge wanted the shirts only if Porsche NA approved. The other issue was the company we were dealing with wouldn't produce the shirts unless they were contacted by Porsche. So 1, the company must want to do the job and 2 if they don't / can't you'll have to get permission.

Now if you went to a local shop in your own town, that may be an easier sell with 1. cash and 2. a limited number of shirts {not for resale}. I could have got a friend to make the shirts without permission from Porsche but the group already started the process with another company AND wanted Porsche to approve.

 

I see. So, I couldn't download a pic of a Ferrari, Lambo etc. and sell it on a shirt even if it does not have a logo or has not been copyrighted. Does the same go for pics of cars that are drawn and not actual photos? Thanks.

 

That would be counterfeit merchandise would it not? How could that be legal to sell and what company would agree to make it for you? In small numbers I could see a small company looking the other way but you'll have to hit the right company/ person.

Even if the logo or trademark symbol isn't there, it's clearly the product of another company, the logo not being there doesn't matter. An artist that sells drawings of say a Ferrari can sell them right up until he's caught which may be never because who's going to report him? A Ferrari is a Ferrari, no matter if you draw the image from memory or a photo.

Was that your idea? To sell these shirts?

 

No, my ideas are a little different. I was just trying to get an idea of the laws so I wouldn't get into trouble. Thanks for the info!

 

As far as the quality goes, you could probably--relatively easily--convert the image into vector, thus making it scalable and probably the best quality you can get.

 

There is a website that you can upload whatever you want. They will print it and ship it to you. A friend of mine uploaded the Enterprise rent a car logos and name all over it along with pics of a rental car he drove in an autocross. They are copyrighted logos but they didn't give him any problems. He made the shirt after getting caught by enterprise.

I know customink.com will do shirts with uploaded art but they seem to be reputable and may check for copyrights or trademarks.

 

I was looking at them for making a company shirt and they have a minimum order for at least the nicer shirts. I have to ask with all the copyright info being thrown around, I sell images of exotic cars mainly at track days, is this legal? and if it is why couldn't you print a shirt with the logo on it as long as you created the image. I get why the South Park shirt could get you in trouble but why would a picture of a Ferrari even with the logo be illegal, you aren't taking credit for designing and producing and selling the car?

 

The South Park issue is the same as the Ferrari issue. Everything that you see that's associated with South Park or Ferrari belongs to those groups. They both sell merchandise including t-shirts and I doubt they want anyone knocking off their products and profiting from them. What you do at track days sounds illegal and again it doesn't matter if the Ferrari picture doesn't have the trademark in it or the logo above the car, the car is the product of Ferrari and only someone pretending not to know, would ask "is it all right if the logo isn't there?". It's not about taking credit for the design, it's about making money from knock off merchandise. Seriously call a lawyer in your city and ask.

 

Try this: http://www.printfection.com

They're also having a $2 shirt (+ shipping) promotion. I think you have to click on an acceptance agreement about copyright, but you can upload any image you want.

 

Is this going to be a shirt you wear a lot or a something you want for some special occasion? A few years back I made a custom T-shirt (Monster Maranello) for the Ferrari chat get together in Monterey. Used some iron on thingies that you can run through an ink jet printer.

 

Yeah, and I'm still waiting for mine!

 

There was only one ever created and the image melted when I tried washing it.....

 

It's very simple. If ANY image or material is created in ANY way the creator or company that has hired the creator under "work for hire" owns the copyright and all rights pertaining to the property created. A copyright is automatically granted upon conception and does not have to be applied for when a work is created under U.S. copyright law. If you use that image (work) in anyway without written permission from the creator / copyright holder you are liable for infringement (stealing) and are in violation of U.S copyright law and can be held accountable in a court of law (lawsuit).
If you get caught depending on the complexity of the infringement the copyright holder might just serve you with a "cease and desist" order but don't count on it.
Application for a trademark is a different ball-game all together and does not apply here.

 

1. They can sue you, perhaps land you a weekend in jail, depending on the judge and if he knows you were selling these.
2. Porsche employs people to search these kinds of things out and I'll assume that Ferrari does as well. If they don't find you, someone that sees you selling them may report you. The company you contract to print the shirts might report you. Your posting questions about ripping off Ferrari on FERRARICHAT.COM might alert them to you activity! lol
3. Email FNA, ask if you can have one printed up for yourself, get turned down and then do it anyway.

As for your "also" they may send you a letter from a lawyer or from their fraud division.