What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida but national impact
http://jalopnik.com/judge-rules-replica-kit-cars-illegal-1444390832
for all those wondering if it is ok to copy the physical characteristic of a vehicle. It appears the fed courts have said no. It has always been an area that as skirted the law but in this situation, not only were the physical characteristics (trade dress?) used but other Bentley trademarks as well.
Bentley's actions were surely predicated on not only stopping the use in this specific case but were also due to the requirement of an owner of a mark being required to defend their rights lest they lose them. Trademark rights are a use them or lose them sort of deal.
Bentley Motors threw almost everything at the replica car makers in this suit - trademark dilution (15 USC 1125c), trademark infringement and counterfeiting (15 USC 1114), false advertising, false designation of origin and trade dress infringement (15 USC 1125a), and design patent infringement (35 USC 271).
From the complaint: "Defendants unlawfully manufacture Bentley body kits that transform ordinary and inexpensive Chrysler and Ford vehicles into knockoff Bentley vehicles" and "misappropriated" the trademarks, appearance and shape of the Bentley.
Replica car kit suits are not uncommon. Ford Motor Company, along with Carroll Shelby Licensing, sued a replica company over the use of the "Shelby Cobra" trademark in 2001. A jury in this case, however, decided that consumers do not associate the Cobra with Ford or the Shelby, and the shape of the vehicle was not distinctive enough to warrant a decision in favor of the plaintiffs.
There was a trademark infringement suit filed by Lamborghini against a Saskatoon replica car maker, and there have been suits filed by Mercedes-Benz over replicas made of their 300SLs.
A couple of interesting vehicle trademark infringement suits were over a car kit company's replica of a car used in a film, this filed by the film company (plaintiff lost) and a trademark and copyright infringement suit over a car used in a comic filed by the comic company (the plaintiff won).
The comic car suit was over the Batmobile replica (see
DC Comics v Mark Towle et al, 2:2011cv03934, California Central District Court). Towle customized cars and created a Batmobile, the Batmobile trademark
and copyright owned by DC Comics (usually vehicles will have trademark and patent protection, but rarely copyright protection).
I believe there was a suit over a Herbie the Love Bug replica, too.
A trademark owner has to be vigilant and prevent infringers from using their trademarks without a license because a mark that is allowed to be used freely by others can be judged "abandoned." The owner could then lose their rights in the mark.
