German Car Zone

well they would have to search like 1million posts and threads..its alot of job..
they should have other things to do..like hurry up the panamera

Lol, good point

WOW I hope they don't start going around Audi & VW fansites and doing this.

Me too. If these photographs aren't to be shown to the public, then what's the purpose of taking them?

But if Porsche themselves provided us a website of their own with a database of all of their pictures, I wouldn't mind that.

You might actually think that they would encourage fanzines and other internet sites to use their photographs. It amounts to some really nice free publicity.

I could see their point if an individual (or company) profited by selling the photos, but an image on a web page extolling the virtues of a particular car should be encouraged, not stifled.

As in all things though, it seems as though the almighty $$$ has reared its ugly head.

When it comes to fighting this though, I would be very wary. Copyright infringement is the real deal, and courts have been known to set examples for others to see when given a chance.

The other problem here is even more obvious. Porsche (and all major companies) have legal departments with nothing better to do than look for reasons to justifiy their existence. The cost for them to investigate and litigate is essentially nil. Those people are already on payroll. On the other hand, the cost to defend oneself in any legal battle gets expensive in a hurry. Sadly, I have had the occasion to engage lawyers three times in the last several years, and believe me, it ain't cheap!

BTW, does GCZ with the Porsche pics threads is any threat to them?

admins, don't sleep! Porsche is coming for you

BMW does the same.

The car companys ive worked with the press pictures is always owned by the car company. And they could be published however they want. Why would it be a pressphoto otherwise?

The Porsche Club of America is not allowed to use the Porsche logo, the Porsche font or the 911 image in any form. Porsche takes this very seriously. You are not even allowed to use an abstract drawing or artwork that includes any part of the 911 "image" such as the roofline, fender curve, etc. They want to have total control over how their product is presented publicly. After all Porsche is one of the most widely recognized and respected brands in the world and they are trying to protect that.

Look at it this way. You're a photographer, you're comissioned to do some work for Porsche, and you negotiate a package based on a certain usage licence. Additionals will cost more.

Then overnight, your work is being disseminated all over the internet and you're not being paid for it.

In the future, if desktop images are distributed as viral marketing it will be a different story. In the meantime, it's a shame, but these "wallpaper bonanza" sites are hosting copywritten material.