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100% fight it, or even just make the first steps to fight it. If PR'd correctly, the publicity could be massive.

How the fuck can they send a C&D because a car in is a porn video? He owns the car he paid for it, it's his.

That's like saying a builder has the right to stop you from fucking and filming it in the house he built for you. No way would I cave in on that.

FTV has always had cars in their pictures and videos. I'd tell them, to see me in court just on principle.

btw "coke" isn't the same as it's a product.. A car has a title and a owner.

its the rules, no not fair clause.

Pics removed.

Well, Dell obviously didn't MIND the free product placement there. If they HAD, I'm betting the logo would have been covered asap. Dell has the right to make that choice.

It's a no-brainer that some companies aren't going to want their products associated with porn, no? I would have thought so.

Suppose you created some home cleaning device that became popular and started making you a LOT of money. Then imagine a few porn companies found it could be used as a sex toy. If a movement came about that would boycott your product because of the association would you act? Maybe not. Maybe you THINK the free advertising would offset the "nutjob" activists. But, what if Wal-Mart, your biggest retailer, said do something about the association or we're gonna pull your products because WE don't want to sell what's becoming known as a sex toy? Would you act then?

Sure the initial product placement may seem great, but there are other factors to consider.

I wasn't thinking of anyone being special... I was just reacting to what I was reading on trademark infringement. From how I read it, you can only damage a trademark by disparaging the mark, altering it, or saying untruthful things about it. By making the claim that the company has not endorsed the images and also truthfully portraying the product (it's a car.. you left it looking exactly the way it was manufactured)....seems straightforward.. and of course law is never straightforward. Time for a good trademark attorney!!!

I had the same thought about the cabinets, the kitchen sink (Delta, Kohler, Moen), Patio furniture, backyard pool, entry doors, pavers, tennis rackets, any and all clothing (nike, victoria's secret, calvin klein), etc etc etc.

Again, if you are displaying the product within its intended purpose; commercial or not, I don't see how you are violating someone else's trademark. Hell, you are giving them free advertising (which BTW is one of the most common reasons products are blurred out on TV.. they haven't paid for advertising).

There's a big difference between a car being in the background and being the primary focus... I remember seeing some shots of Lia/Alison with the car(s) and wondering if she was actually advertising them.. i.e the focus was on the cars, not her... Those are probably the types of shots that brought about the C&D.

The bigger the production the more red tape involved - guaranteed any big budget movie using anything with a brand has something in writing before releasing it - they also have insurance to protect them from OMISSIONS AND ERRORS anyone who has production insurance should know that this is available if doing something that might require correction after the fact - You cannot copyright the car but the brand of car being used without permission is liability - for example, the mercedes logo emblem on the front of the car, shown in a shot with a naked ass sprawled out over the hood. - looks good but not to mercedes evidently.

wow, I would have thought that kind of promotion is priceless

Damn.. well that sucks

i understand both sites...
if merc feels that this is bad for their image then i think they have a point... especially when it is shown on promo works by ftv
good to see that ftv complied though....
seems like the right move

Like I said elsewhere, BMW has done the same kinds of things in the past. They don't care whether or not it will sell more of their cars, all they care about are the shareholders yelling about the evil pornographers twisting their brand.

Those companies aren't porn companies... People are acting like this is a company vs company thing, this is a porn vs mainstream thing, and in the bigger scheme of things, they don't want anything to do with us on that level. It's like comparing apples to oranges.

FTV may be rich, but Mercedes would bury them in court, much more capital to fight it until the end. Their move was wise, especially from a financial standpoint :P

Hang a naked girl on your Dells and see how quickly they jump. :P

Mercedes has an obligation to protect its trademark in the face of anyone using it without their permission. If a company fails to protect their trademark from dilution or infringement they weaken their case in any future violation or lawsuit.

Basic trademark law guys ........... Did the letter start with "It has come to our attention ....."

I see a lot of porn sites using the Apple logo to advertise compatibility with the Mpeg video format for the ipod and Mac. Does Apple sue them?

No, it shows that they are interested in covering their own ass and don't want any hassle....ESPECIALLY since the owner was recently in the news....

Only a FOOL would not take the pictures down if asked by a big company like Mercedes......So let's all give FTV a pat on the back for doing what anybody who is interested in keeping their ass out of the skillet would do.

(Disregard, I fucked up)

...........

EDIT: whatever.

Not to mention Brand Management 101 :)

where some of you morons get your statistics is mind blowing. oh wait, i know where you get them, out of your ass.

Believe it or not, not every company wants to be associated with porn.

I'm pretty sure FTV wasn't sending royalties to Mercedes for using their car in the pics that they made so much money on.

Come on guys, this is business ... would you want the FTV girls selling Mercedes cars with the thought of "Well, hot girls next to that car, I'm gonna go sign up for FTVGirls?" You would want your cut for them using your girls up front.

you are fighting your own copyrights battles all the time, same coin, different side.
btw, how about saying a trade/copyrighted word in a video ? like coca cola or Tom Cruise.. i could see that being a problem as well.

This is only a fraction of our content. This has nothing to do with our main content. These photosets happen because the girls want to pose with the car.

The reason this happened a huge spam email with Lia19/SLR were passed around.This is not a profitable thing for us to have the SLR in photoshoots. We do not endorse spam. In the end I am sure it would have happened anyway, I appreciate the help from affiliates to remove the images and to also keep the SLR out of future FTV promotions.