------------ 1967 Camaro Streetfighter =VENGEANCE= 2011 field journal thread.--------

[devwil68]

well, if you would like to sell your car due to this piece of crap that likes to duplicate.. i would be more than happy to take it off your hands!

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

my man is from the BRONX and has the nerve to say "imitation is the best form of flattery".. a real BX borough representative would call whats happening.. BITING.












sell my car because of .... Transformers.

[CodexGigas]

my man is from the BRONX and has the nerve to say "imitation is the best form of flattery".. a real BX borough representative would call whats happening.. BITING.

LOL!!!! I'd be Tight too, But in a way I'd be all Gassed up like "Yo Mother****ers Bit My Car, My Joint is Popping".
But I understand why You Tight, All that Time in Effort You put into it to make it Yours and They See a Picture and completely Rip You off.

[TonyL]

I've been raising hell since this morning on my phone at reddit. the legal type folk think you may have a claim. your an artist, and this car is your named work. it's a legit, documented rolling piece of art. and they've stolen an copied it. you may have damages. who's to say that muscle machines want going to make a die cast vengeance? or how many of your works feature this car? just sayin, this may be a worthwhile tree to bark up.

[Retrorider]

I'd lawyer up and hit Hasbro. They own the franchise and have to sign off on anything that goes on. I'd at least make them produce a Vengeance toy just like it is now and get a cut of the sales. Or make them produce one that you can give away at the events to the kids.

Sucks that they had to rip you off with out at least asking or at least let your car in the movie so it can be scanned for Bubblebee. Give 'em hell.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

man I dont think I got a leg to stand on with the lawyer thing.. hell I never had to on that level.

[TonyL]

Ugh. I dunno man, the folks over at Reddit seem to think you might

It'd be an interesting case for sure. Figure, they're using YOUR design idea to market toys, shirts, video games, paper plates and napkins, greeting cards, bicycles, power wheels, and more. litterally thousands of different types of merch will have "vengeance with a tweaked paint job" on it. You could copywrite the car right now. You have verified history of the evolution of the design on the car. The law is on your side. What damages are you entitled to? I dunno. But I know I don't like this. I mean. I love the transformers franchise. It defined my childhood to the point that I was called Optimus prime by my older brother and all his friends. I watched and owned all the movies even though they were terrible. But this, this changes things for me. I'm pissed for you. they came here, and stole that car, and then freaking plan to sell it. To sell your style, your dream, your vision as a hollow grab at whats "cool". and they didnt even ask you for it.

[TonyL]

LOOKIE WHAT I FOUND (high rez image of "bumblebee")

also, it's being discussed on Jalopnik in the comments of This post

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

that is so crazy....




i also asked the question on VWvortex

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ed..-seriously.

[Ron.in.SoCal]

Read about this early today. At first I thought maybe Tony was a bit militant, but...damn he's right!

You make your living as an artist Amir. This is your original design. You do not own the copyright nor trademark on a first gen Camaro, but in it's entirety it is you. And you are your art. They will profit from this for sure.

I understand the distraction of a lawsuit. Not fun, so decide what you're in it for and then do the +/- equation to figure out how far you want to chase this vs what you may see from it.

Just for perspective, I had a similar moment. My car is not Vennie, but a couple of recent builds had some similar design features. One is pretty high profile. At first I wanted to blow in public. Thanks to some good advice, I kept it cool and ultimately got over it. Sheet happens. But your case is different....

Whatever you do, stay cool (I'm sure you will) and stay grounded. In the end, you built Vennie cause you had too. He was under your skin waiting to come out. And he did. That's the win right there Bro

[TonyL]

that is so crazy....




i also asked the question on VWvortex

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ed..-seriously.

Put some horrid yellow vinyl on the nose of your car and go Hawc it at all the movie theatres every. single. night. each. week.

Charge $5 for a "signed photo"

Profit?

I LOL'D

Seriously tho. I'd do it. Slow Roll by the premier and blast the pipes man. What are they gonna do?

[TonyL]

At first I thought maybe Tony was a bit militant, but...damn he's right!

Well this is how I see it. Vengeance was built as an affront (just like my car) to the high gloss, high profile builds that get built to market a product that we see literally in every magazine every month these days. Gone are the days of "joe shmoe's car that he built in his garage" being the main feature in a magazine. Now it seems like all the cars in print get built as part of a marketing decision. Cars are identified by the shops that built them or the parts that were bought for them (anvil mustang, etc) more often than for the people that did. That's why Vengeance is so awesome. The car is an extension of the owner, you see who he is in every aspect and detail of the car. His *soul* is in there.

And what did hollywood do? They copied it and turned it into the very thing it was built to rail against. A marketing gimmick. Because it'll make a sweet looking toy. It'll sell t-shirts and bed sheets and beach towels. Vengblebee is *way* cooler than a stock brand new camaro, after all. Just goddamnit so much.

[andrewb70]

I think from a legal perspective, it might be tough. Remember, Apple lost against Microsoft. However, Holley did win against Barry Grant, hence the demon line was born. The question would: Is the new Bumblebee different enough...

Personally, I think contacting an intellectual property lawyer is worth a shot. At worst, you will be a thorn in Hasbro's side, at best, they might throw money at you...

Andrew

[Ron.in.SoCal]

^ Tony I think you just wrote the plaintiff's closing argument

[Z06killinSBF]

Insane! You better get something if you pursue this. I'm with Team Vengeance!!! Wait......

[MrQuick]

I have the feeling that Amir is ok with it...its just Tony getting him all rialed up. Listen, a very popular movie franchise copied Amir...at least its an American company and not a chineese one. ;)

I don't know about you but that would make me feel pretty damn good. Everyone deserves a good ego stroke.shut up zbugger

[MidnightSpecial]

Someone dropped a link to this thread on Jalopnik.

If it were me, I dont think i would go after money. A lot of headache and I'm pretty sure they would have better lawyers.

But i would be annoyed for the next few years everyone is going to think he copied the transformer car. That would piss me off if i was the owner of Vengeance.

Still pretty flattering though.....and the fact that a bottomless budget movie cant even correctly knock off your car!

[Ravenworks]

Well this is how I see it. Vengeance was built as an affront (just like my car) to the high gloss, high profile builds that get built to market a product that we see literally in every magazine every month these days. Gone are the days of "joe shmoe's car that he built in his garage" being the main feature in a magazine. Now it seems like all the cars in print get built as part of a marketing decision. Cars are identified by the shops that built them or the parts that were bought for them (anvil mustang, etc) more often than for the people that did. That's why Vengeance is so awesome. The car is an extension of the owner, you see who he is in every aspect and detail of the car. His *soul* is in there.

And what did hollywood do? They copied it and turned it into the very thing it was built to rail against. A marketing gimmick. Because it'll make a sweet looking toy. It'll sell t-shirts and bed sheets and beach towels. Vengblebee is *way* cooler than a stock brand new camaro, after all. Just goddamnit so much.

This is probably one of my favorite posts ever on this forum. Great observations!!!

[MrQuick]

Tony makes some great points but its about the human relation amongst gear heads or people that don't even know they are gear heads. Amir's soul and personality is what created his car, his art and there are many young kids out there that is going to relate. Much like what Steve McQueen, Bob Falfa, Big Red and Mad Max has done for many of us growing up.

[Iamtheonlyreal1]

I would wonder if Vengeance could find an attorney to take this on as a Commission Payment that is based of settlement.. It seems to me that there is probably a lawyer out there that would like to take this on for some potential publicity? And not to mention if there was a pay out/settlement based on product and movie revenue? That is what I would pursue, because it seems Amir would be able to sit back and wait, along with solidify publicly that it is his vision first, and they probably decided to use it because someone was on one of the forums and saw his car.

I must say though, I am glad they retired the first Bumble Bee's, and this is a much better choice, minus the yellow vinyl.. On another argument, it is pretty clear that they scrapped the overall Bright Yellow car, for a more sinister flat black car, and only put the decal on to say I am bumble bee.. LOL