So, this more or less relates to SCS software with American Truck Simulator (And their stuff in the past), but its something I've noticed with their California Rework Phase 3 and Nebraska are these 2 logos. 1st off is this Southern Pacific roundel in Oakland California, obviously its not 100% but you can see its pretty much inspired by the actual logo. The 2nd is this caboose in Bridgeport, Nebraska. Again, the Burlington Northern logo is VERY similar to the actual BN logo, but is not 100% exact. Which makes me wonder how close can one get to an actual logo before licensing becomes an issue?
I think you can get up to 90% of the original, which is not a problem in terms of copyright. But you are not allowed to make a 100% copy, otherwise you could be legally prosecuted. Even when naming companies, you may not use the original. But if it sounds similar, it's still possible. A good example is GTA5, where real companies are satirized. Although logos and names (and 3D models) have been modified, you still know who it means in the end.
Was toying with getting the farming machinery cargo add on but from what I read on the SCS forum, looks like they couldn't get a John Deere licence so the green equipment got a fictional name. As an aside the California rework is great (and unlike LIRR2, free) as is Nebraska which was also discounted literally on Day One to £7.64 and is also great. Just need to organise a trailer and reposition my truck so I can start the grain loading and unloading jobs.
Only part of the rework I don't like is a small area around north Fresno which is just plain out wrong (Doesn't help I'm a local to the area so I nitpick on it harder) But yeah, the Cali rework SCS is doing for the game is amazing. Cant wait for Phase 4, Arizona, and Nevada later.
I have done a couple OBB and ZSSK logos for my "what if our railways had this loco thing" liveries and they dont seem to care much especially ZSSK
I wonder about that SCS used the exact same name and almost identical logo for Southern Pacific. I also wonder about that they used the Burlington Northern (BN) logo at the right side of the loco (not the actual imagery of the steam train). These are definitely not just derivates, rather than aim to be exact replications (even if they aren't in the end). I found this article by a laywer office which says that the 20 to 25% rule is not true. https://www.kleinlaw.com/blog/2016/july/how-much-can-you-legally-change-another-companys/ I also found this interesting article written by a lawyer about that "Fair use" does not only apply to copyright, but also trademark law (which the logo and the name should fall into). If SCS didn't ask, they probably use this as an argument. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/when-you-need-permission-use-trademarks.html However, I think for using these brand names and logos in a commercial product in this way is very questionable and risky if they didn't ask for permission before. I don't think SCS would do that and would say that they indeed asked for permission.
