This would be trademark infringement (it's at the top of the PDF they have of the letter VW sent). [1] has a pretty good overview of the law and exceptions. I'

This would be trademark infringement (it's at the top of the PDF they have of the letter VW sent). [1] has a pretty good overview of the law and exceptions. I'm pretty sure this is trademark infringement. That could pass for a real VW product, and could create confusion in the market. I don't think the Fair Use clause would apply here since the symbol is pretty clearly being used in the same way as a trademark (i.e. not as part of an art installation or something). > if you install windows onto a macbook you don't have to scratch out the apple logo. The hardware is still Apple, so you can still have the logo. The OS and hardware are two separate products. You can make modifications to a product with a trademark on it, you just can't add a trademarked logo to things. You'd also have to be selling it to infringe on the trademark. > More specific to this actual case, people have fake badges on their cars all the time. I'm not a car person so I can't spot them but just because somebody's SUV has a performance package badge doesn't mean it has anything else that was part of the performance package. To be guilty of federal trademark infringement, they'd have to meet one of these criteria: 1. advertising by the alleged infringer in more than one state; 2. interstate movement of goods bearing an infringing mark from manufacturer to seller; 3. sending a product to another state for the purpose of registering a trademark; 4. advertising in newspapers that have interstate distribution, on billboards near interstate highways, or on radio or television stations with an interstate broadcasting range. None of which really apply to personal use. I would assume most states have similar-ish laws. I would guess illegal things happen with those badges, but there's nobody checking so it doesn't get caught. I don't think cops are in the business of checking for trademarked badges. 1: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/trademark_infringement https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/trademark_infringement