I am working on designing some reptile harnesses for reptiles such as bearded dragons, monitors, iguanas and more. The design includes a piece of leather across the back and I am working on coming up with some embellishments. I was thinking about picking up some small Harley Davidson logo iron ons. Would this be a violition of their copyright? What if I include a notice when I send them out that Harley Davidson logo is a trademark of Harley Davidson?
If you are not earning money off of the Harley Davidson logo, then you may be able to use their logo. The safest possible option is to contact them explaining the situation.
I honestly do not think the guys over at HD would give two $h!ts if you put there logo on your product. At the very least this is free advertising and brand recognition for them. But to be on the safe side you might want to contact them.
As far as making money, I would be selling these harnesses so I guess I would be making money. I guess I contact Harley Davidson. Edit to add Contacted them. Was pretty easy. I hope I do not have to pay like a huge amount of money or something.
Licensing of trademarks is a billion dollar business. The response you received would be fairly normal. If you were going to mass produce the items, you could probably cut a deal with them - but I would image it would be in the tens of thousands of dollars at a minimum.
OK this might sound really stupid but I had a thought. What if I made a harness. Included a "free" Harley Davidson" logo iron on? Pay for the harness and receive a free logo, that comes with instructions on how to iron it onto something. I know why are really stretching the laws here. Heck I am sure I could go ahead and sell the harnesses under the counter with the logo ironed on and never be caught. However I would like to sell these on my website and perhaps shot at e-bay so I have to be careful.
If you had a friend who was a lawyer, and the lawyer contacted them formally, you would be more likely to get a positive response however you may have to pay royalty fees. You got the answer the secretary is told to send out when they get an email from some guy.
I'm pretty sure they won't let you use it even if you are a lawyer or even God. They make big bucks on licensing so they won't give it away.
Nope...you can't get around the law that way. You are still getting a commercial gain and you are certainly not authorized to mass produce and distribute something that's not yours.
Listen dude Harley said no so the answer is no. They own the trademark if you use it they will sue the shit of you. Stop trying to think up ways around it and make better use of your time. make your own logo for instance or pay some one to make one. This road you are trying to go down will end up biting you in the ass.
Seeing as this thread is 14 years old I doubt that anyone will be biting him anywhere, as by now they may be so old that they no longer have any teeth left.
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Using the Harley Davidson logo on your reptile harnesses without their permission could get you into trouble because it's protected by copyright and trademark laws. Even if you mention that it's their trademark, it doesn't give you the right to use it without authorization. To avoid legal problems, you should get permission from Harley Davidson to use their logo on your products. This might involve contacting them and asking if they have a program that allows you to use their logo in exchange for payment or meeting certain conditions. If you're unsure about what to do, it's best to consult with a lawyer who knows about these things to guide you properly.