Legal issue regarding pic of guitar

[MichiSPhotography]

I have recently taken some pics of some of my husband's guitar collection. No names/manufacturer are visible in the shots.
I really like how they came out and would like to offer prints and cards with the photos. It's not going to be mass sold, just for my individual site.

Am I able to legally sell these photos? If so, can I identify the guitar make and model in the title?
I have emailed two of the guitars' company website but have received no answer.

 

[Craddosk]

You can easily sell the pictures, but to mention which guitar name/brand they came from, or to have they names (copyrighted) in the pictures would be a breach, unless you had signed documentation from each company permitting it.

Try calling them if your overly concerned, that usually elicits a faster response. Or discuss this with a lawyer that knows what they're talking about.

If your not using the name (beyond maybe identifying the product), and the company's name is not visible, I would not be overly concerned.

 

[MichiSPhotography]

Thank you.
It is probably so under their radar since it would be for a very minor sales amount. It's definitely not worth paying lawyer fees for that's for sure!

 

[khallene]

I would say it's probably fine. You're taking pictures of something you own, it's not like you're going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and taking pictures of their collections and then selling them. I would say, just like 'craddosk', as long as the company name isn't in there, then you are probably safe.

 

[Josh66]

You can easily sell the pictures, but to mention which guitar name/brand they came from, or to have they names (copyrighted) in the pictures would be a breach, unless you had signed documentation from each company permitting it.

I call bull**** on this.

You're telling me I can take a picture of my Chevy Silverado (yes, everybody in Texas drives a truck), but it's illegal for me to tell you that it is in fact a Chevy Silverado? And that I have to clone out the Chevy bow tie?


OP, I think you're fine. I doubt you need a model release for a guitar. Most guitarist will know what they are anyway, no harm in telling them "Yup, this one here is a '52 Fender Telecaster."

 

[manaheim]

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. Contact an attourney to be safe.

I had some experience with this a ways back when I was selling t-shirts under the name retrohacker.com. They were pictures of various old computers (such as Apple //s) with cute sayings under them like "Gigawhat?!". Our research indicated it was perfectly legal to sell images of these things, including images of the logos, names, etc. just so long as there was no confusion as far as us being the actual holder of the copyright... so, for example, if we were trying to pose as Apple selling these images in some way, that would be bad.

I don't recall all the specifics now... it's been a while, but that was what we determined.

 

[MichiSPhotography]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I actually thought they would want the name attached. Kind of like quoting the author of a quote...it would be giving them credit for their craftsmanship.
Again, it's such small beans I'm sure the guitar companies wouldn't care either way really. I have no plans for franchising any time soon.