Is it illegal to reproduce 737 logo decals and sell for profit?

[No Longer Active]

I have noticed that there are a few Boeing decals, aswell as airbus and cessna decals etc on the net, These are easily produced, but are these illegal because the logo is copyright, especially the Boeing decals because Boeing have their own font...

Just food for thought!

[Sean Nixon]

I'm no expert, but whereas they may turn a blind eye if it were for personal use, if you're making a profit out of it, they may have something to say about it. They may be quite happy to let you do it with their permission though?

[No Longer Active]

I agree with you, I have just checked Boeing's site and you need permission to do this, especially to profit.

Alex

[JWS]

These logo's are generally registered trade marks and thus protected as intellectual property. Some companies are very strict in their policies, also because they want to prevent that the use of their logo's make the false impression that the company endorses or supports the product that bears the logo. Especially US companies, accustomed to the "I'll see you in court"-mentality, tend to overreact in that respect, according to our European view. Vendors of flightsim hardware should take this into serious consideration. On the other hand, these companies also understand that a single home builder who likes to adorn his dream creation for personal use with the proper decals, is not a threat to their intellectual property.

I remember that a couple of years ago some major US airline companies threatened popular flight sim websites with law suites because they published livery repaints of those airline companies for download, which was considered as an infringement on their intellectual property. Probably an overactive lawyer had tipped them off thinking he could earn some extra money. Instead, the uproar and general public dismay that was caused by this stupid action swiftly made clear that these companies were making themeselves very unpopular and the laughing stock of the aviation community.

So, act with common sense.

JWS

[No Longer Active]

Personally, I think that it is best to avoid those sellers selling copies and duplicates, because the chances are that the profits will not go to the owner nor are they probably aware of such products. However, reproducing decals for your own sim or for a friend is acceptable if there is no money involved and not selling to the public or for profit or advertising the fact that such items are available for gain.

But what if you substitute the font with something similar, does that make it ok? There's nothing to stop you printing decals that says Boeing in for example 'Impact' font which is nothing like the Boeing font (more like the MyCockpit font).

Alex