NY license plate copyrighted? (New York, York: DMV, law, store)

[buck500]

I have a unique license plate and I would like to use the image with minor alterations (taking out New York and Empire State) for a business. Since the plate is mine, are they any copyright or trademark laws I would be infringing on with New York State? Any advice would be appreciated.

[cheerbaby112]

Altering a license plate is illegal, if thats what you are talking about.

[buck500]

Nope, using an image of a license displayed in a store or handing out as a business card. Altered to remove references to New York State and Empire State. Only retaining the unique number and some of the colors.

[SteveDr]

Copyright and trademark laws are FEDERAL. These laws are not created, enforced, etc., at the state level.

Technically, ownership of a work commences at the time said work is created. In other words, as soon as I write something or take a photograph, I own the copyright for that piece of work. That being said, unless I register my work at the federal level (e.g., U.S. copyright office), I can't sue for copyright infringement.

I just went over to the NYS DMV website and it does not indicate that the NYS license plates are registered trademarks. However, there is a copyright notice at the footer of the site.

Using someone else's image/trademark/creation in a for-profit business - without permission from whomever owns the intellectual property - is something I wouldn't do or advise. You said you'd remove "NEW YORK" and "THE EMPIRE STATE" from the plate image. The law is a little less clear on variations of images like this. If you went with the same design and a totally different color scheme, I think you'd be on much firmer footing. However, the resulting image would be less recognizable to people in New York, so that's probably not what you want.

[cheerbaby112]

Originally Posted by SteveDr

Using someone else's image/trademark/creation in a for-profit business - without permission from whomever owns the intellectual property - is something I wouldn't do or advise. You said you'd remove "NEW YORK" and "THE EMPIRE STATE" from the plate image. The law is a little less clear on variations of images like this. If you went with the same design and a totally different color scheme, I think you'd be on much firmer footing. However, the resulting image would be less recognizable to people in New York, so that's probably not what you want.

Nope that parts not even true here an examples.
‘Noles’ logo proposal still unsettled (w VIDEO) - Education - BradentonHerald.com (http://www.bradenton.com/2010/10/26/2682453/noles-logo-proposal-still-unsettled.html - broken link)