In the end, the license holder is fully within their rights to forbid such things. It's their property. I kind of understand the decision, while I disagree with it. What I don't understand is the inconsistency. Why McLaren made that decision for pCARS but not for AC, iRacing, Forza or Gran Turismo is what bothers me most.
I do not disagree with you as such, however I would like to qualify this more. Specifically, there is a difference between:
- legality as far as the law is concerned
- breach of contract as far as kunos is concerned
- breach of "contract" as far as the end user is concerned
Law part:
How far trademarks and copyright can be enforced using intellectual property laws in models is debatable. This battle has been long ranging since before 3D came up, in plastic model kits and the like.
Some things are clearly enforceable using the law, such as the company logo and car logo, the car's specific name. Specific items constituting a "face" are probably enforceable, in the racing game field it would be the details of the grille design (for limits see how closely Ford copy the DB9).
Color trademarks need to be registered, but in any case you cannot restrict people from *not* using the registered trademark color. Trying to prevent people from repainting their 3D cars going *away* from the official color is ludicrous.
Contract part wrt game company:
Game companies play this licensing game to the extent that the car manufacturers want it to be played for a variety of factor ranging from bigger legal funds with the car companies to the benefit of having control about competitors, aka getting a license negotiated with a car company also allow you to predict what kind of license competing game companies will get in what timeframe.
The contract between car company and game company is clearly binding. Normal contract with signature.
Contract part wrt end user:
Nah. Lawsuits over the past 20 years prove that the contract that is passed down to the end user via EULAs is a valid contract, however that unusual parts extended far beyond intellectual property laws require a real contract, with specific parties, with signatures or equivalent.
It is absolutely safe for end users to repaint 3D models, especially if you move *away* from the official layout that might or might not be protected by trademarks and copyright.
It is also clear that the car manufacturer can restrict the game company from offering any kind of help. Their contract is binding and enforceable and it can contain whatever they like, including ludicrous restrictions for either party. However, not everything in their contract can be enforced down to the end user via EULAs.
