I found this story about a guy who was selling t-shirts that satirized San Francisco's MUNI system. Seems that New York's MTA sent Cafepress a C&D Letter claiming trademark violation even though the MUNI symbols have different colors than the NY ones:

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thes...they_own_the_mun.php

Upon being contacted by the press - New York's MTA is appearing to backtrack.

Another story appears in Flickr where someone was stopped from selling postcards of a picture of a subway train apparently because it contained the route symbol, although the exact reason is not clear.

Does anyone know if the MTA is only protecting its route symbols and logos or are they going after any and all images taken of New York subway trains?

I have no idea. Last place I looked for information was here:
http://www.nycsubway.org/faq/photopermits.html

Thanks Diane, I know that site quite well as well as the MTA's own rule concerning photography which permits it as long as a tripod or lights are not used - no mention is made concerning commercial restrictions on the use of the images.

However Cafepress and its competitors have been receiving C&D letters from the MTA because the route symbols and the logos are trademarked. I would like to know if it goes beyond that and if anyone has been blocked from selling a picture of a subway train even if the route symbol is not at issue.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JPPhotography,