The Real Reason Warner Brothers Sued Gotham Garage
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Whether people watch it because of their astounding work, their magnetic cast, or simply for entertainment purposes, the truth is that “Car Masters: Rust To Riches” has done an excellent job at becoming one of the most popular car restoration shows airing on TV nowadays.
Many who watch the show will agree that the show is free of drama on and off the screen, so the case of Mark Towle is surprising, to say the least. The show’s main star, Mark, has had some real-life issues involving his business, a big company, and some copyright laws.
DC Comics v. Mark Towle is not another TV show, but a copyright case heard in the U.S Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, in September 2015. The case involves Mark Towle, who owns and runs “Gotham Garage'' and the plaintiff, Warner Brothers; Mark Towle runs his personal business in his Garage, so why the lawsuit? Let’s find out, shall we?
#GothamGarage #CarMasters
Let’s keep it real. We watch for Constance.
Truth
Facts
What double Ds?
100 percent.
You not wrong.
After watching Mark paint a car with an $18 Harbor Freight paint gun and seeing the horrible orange peel paint job I stopped watching the show as was then that I realized it's 100% fake. I really wanted to like it, but there were too many questionable shots showing bad paint, body lines, etc and then the person paying over $100k for the vehicle with crap paint/body work done on it.
At least in rust valley restorers, from what I have seen so far, the highest they seem to sell cars for, is about 60k in Canadian dollars so far (which is about 66815.95 in Australian dollars roughly when googling currency conversion). I am yet to see a episode where people pay as much as what Gotham garage charges customers
I’m so glad I’m not the only one that seen that. It would always drive me crazy but I continued to watch for the cars not the paint. Also Sean’s been on several other car shows which made think it was set up but I didn’t even think Mark wasn’t legit I just thought he convinced stupid people with his over confidence.
MY EXACTLY FEELINGS!
They can't even use a blow up spray booth, no water on the floor. Pretty sure the paint jobs are shite
Watching that joke of a tribute to the original Futura documentary is what did it for me. Hacky-est build i think ive ever seen.
If you do watch, watch carefully. The workmanship is horrendous in every department. No way the clients are real. People that spend that kind of money won’t spend it on these builds.
The designs are also terrible!
Are you for real The guys got cars in tye museum So you've fucking wrong In your case all the other car shows are shit
@@javediqbalsalim7800 The cars that got into the museum are the ones that Mark didn't design himself. His designs with the spiderwebs etc are just cringe.
As someone who has seen the cars irl they are horrible overspray ect the "clients" are actor's no one buys the cars infact most of the cars you see on the show are at a house parked all over the place his designs are just bad they look like a ipad kid designed them i get the whole be creative thing but theres being creative and then theres being gotham garage you want a good car show go watch overhaul thats a show that got creative but didn't dip its toes in the only a car a mother chould love
@@javediqbalsalim7800 also man i can tell you got no taste in cars if you think his cars are art
If you put spider web on everything eventually you'll get tangled up.
As a fan of Chip Foose , I look very closely to the fine details of a vehicle. Gotham Garage vehicles has too many flaws , especially the paint . Their paint never looked smooth and their bodywork was never completely flawless. It made me think the customers were fake .
You're a fan of Chip Foose and go on to explain why you don't like Gotham Garage when Chips cars have had the same issues 🤡🤦
@@TheTrollTrollyYetiHow many lawsuits were there over cars from Overhauling? I lost count,... There were cars returned to owners less functional then when collected, paint that needed replacing six months later, and then there was the episode that IIRC never aired, of the Corvette that had most of it's collectable value destroyed by what was done to it.
@TheTrollTrollyYeti there is a difference between his vehicles from overhaulin and his actual show vehicles. He's a legend in the game. The car shows that end up on tlc are all scripted and end up in court due to insane time constraints. But all of Chip Foose's personal show vehicles are flawless.
Who’s chip foose?
@@jimmytran5971 Californian automotive stylist and hot rod builder.
I lived in Dallas for 18 years and loved the Russ Martin Show.
The Batmobile infringement is the least of his problems. The cars he build is garbage. Bad welds, bad paint, mostly bad design...and those spiderwebs all over (Someone should take away their waterjet). Constance is the only reason to watch this show.
That guy has Really Bad Taste! Spiderwebs on EVERYTHING! Even a Tesla
And it’s not even original, was done to death by OCC (Orange County Choppers!)
Mark was profiting from an iconic duplicate. I would think his lawyer fees would be more then the 20,000 judgement ruling against him and the slap on the wrist. The bottom line is if you had a product that was duplicated and someone was making profit from it. I'm sure you would want a cut or production to cease. Hence the epidemic of fake copies of consumable products around the world.
20k fine for cars he charged 90k+ for. a slap on the wrist if you ask me.
Copied the bat mobile and made a website! Why even fight in court? Lol
Terrible workmanship and some of the ugliest cars I have ever seen. WB had nothing to worry about with the junk they produce.
The concept car & bike,... OMG, so fugly.
this garage creates some of the worst cartoonist cars, even the so called customers on Netflix look horrified by the creations they ordered.
Guys id like to point out that Warner brothers are techncly Infringing the copywrite of the Lincon Futura Concept (COUGH)
So if someone makes a round clear marble and it looks like someone else’s marble that has a copyright for that marble, does that mean no one can make another round marble like it?🤔
Not even close to the point of the judgment.
I tried.😄
As a marble collector I found this funny as hell 😂
I make sqaure marbles and don't get any issues
Exactly!!!!
I remember watching the builds and appreciating the work they put in but was disappointed and curious as to why they never showed the full build. Suddenly it would just cut to the complete build and we only see perhaps some assembly being done.
A série me agradou bastante. O segmento automobilístico é uma paixão brasileira. Excelente entretenimento para negociadores e empreendedores, sem falar no elenco que forma uma equipe perfeita. O programa é maravilhoso, pena não haver mais novas temporadas.
#1 reason people sue is, jealousy.
Warner brothers can't make good movies so they need to earn money somehow.
@@James-je7hf Yes, $20,00 will support the company for a long time.
Beggers that's to lazy to get something good for themselves as its hard work lol but 100% agree with u
Another reason is blatant plagiarism lol
Or using their copyrighted name for commercial gain.
I liked the show, but it drives me insane that he has a reputation of building immaculate cars. Every episode, I'd look at the shots of the finished products and cringe at badly cut body lines, bad fitting windows and orange peel paint finishes. Really amature, like it had been made at college using tin snips and a spray can.
I think you put a ton of effort into this video and I think WB definitely could’ve tried to hit Mark with a huge amount for damages. I feel like that small amount (in Warner Bros money) was just to say “hey, don’t do it again.”
Noo.
They literally just had clips of the guy's show while reading an article literally word for word that was posted several years ago.. not that much effort lol
I would rather watch Gotham Garage Gas Monkey Garage any day Mark is awesome at what he does his whole crew is awesome people need to leave people like that alone they're just trying to make a living like everybody else lots of greedy people in this world
Let him build his great cars at the end of the day it's a lot of fun 😊😊😊😊😊
Sorry to see it go. I really enjoyed the show!
The fit and finish of his cars are terrible. The paint jobs are horrible. No way people are paying for this junk. Reminds me of the series Bad Chad Customs. All the buyers were fake and the cars were put in storage and remained the builder’s property.
They do half ass work at best. Have you even seen the close ups of their paint jobs?!!! Sheeesh
The work quality sucked, they admitted they did the interior of this car in leather and there was ripples all over, pretty cheesy.
They cut the coil over springs off one of their cars too, I couldn’t believe it lol
dude.. that concept car, sheesh .. that was ugly 🤭
Agreed. Lowest quality of any build show. I always thought they should stay true to the classics rather that putting cheap flares on a Prius.
This programme made me realise that u could be clever and stupid at the same time .when the guy cut out the door for the concept car i found the ingenious but stupid because the guys were checking if the door will close.
Mark should have gotten permission from Warner Brothers and look into copy rights first… It’s like all those reproduction parts of old cars now have to pay licensing fees after the big 3 brought action against all these aftermarket companies…
My grandma lives up the street from the guy, I remember when my brother and I were younger we’d ride our bike down this steep street that he lives off of, and he always had the bat mobile parked either in his driveway or in front of his house
This could’ve been 30 seconds long and give the exact same amount of information.
If it was a crap build I would say "go for it WB", but it was a great build. What WB should have done is say "Mark, great replica, can you build us some more for promotion?.....if not, we will sue you". Speaking of custom builds.....Marks supercar design (the yellow one), I think is ugly and I would never pay $250,000 for it. For that price, I would rather buy a Mclaren or a Ferrari....sorry Mark!
Great show, too bad these corporations are soooo GREEDY!!! 😡😡😱
If they were simply being greedy they would have pursued a larger amount.
@gregrohsful uh they did, but the judge is the one that came up with the amount. Now if they were greedy and smart they would have licensed the kits to Gotham. Missed opportunity
whenever they pan over the finished car, i always see shody work. finished dash? has bare welds or messy seems. overpaint, underpaint, always an issue i notice. no way these are real or sold for that much (which btw, always happens to happen between expected profits? fat chance.)
It's very simple, he got sued for the same reason that Fugazzi Cars got sued by Bentley. They put out work that was far superior in quality and put them to shame. Instead of suing, maybe partner with them and make money off of the work they do. You'll get a lot more than $20,000.
Was the principal. Warner bros doesn't care if it cost them 500k in legal fees to make 20. Just another massive corporation trying to mess with a little guy trying to make a name. Give or take.
Yeah....No. He got sued because he stole someone else's idea, made a version himself and used their idea's name, likeness on a website to market that he was using their idea.
@@strycknyne I have a ETSY shop that I sell Laser cut files for lasering. I did a GLOCK design that had 2 glocks like the skull and cross bones with the punisher skull on it. Glock sent me an email saying that I violated the design and they own the sillouette, shape, name and image. The only thing "Glocky about my design was the magazine shape on the bottom and the trigger guard. I wasn't even showing the receiver or the hammer. So, I went in and editted the file to remove the magazine shape, modified the trigger guard.....so now it looks like a Barreta or 1911.
Astounding builds ? Webs and bats on nearly every vehicle doesn't sound Astounding. And when you really look at the paint jobs , horrible.
Dude you had this down and right bro run with it I mean it don’t let this crap ruin you you got it right
The Eleanor car was suing under this same reasoning that the car was a actor but finally lost in 2022 I believe as the lady who owned the rights finally lost I’m glad there is case law out now on custom car build not being an actor on screen 💯
If WB was making the cars and Gotham was doing the same, I can see it interfering. So why not sell Gotham a license to reproduce them? There is another guy making them and he doesn’t seem to be in trouble with making them. Does he have a license?
Actually, yes he does have a license. From what I have read and heard, he is the only guy with a license to make Batmobiles. I also remember hearing he specializes in the Adam West 60’s style version and doesn’t much care to make the Michael Keaton version.
@@ryanlukens9280 yep so it turns out warner bros was getting into the repcila busness.
Then Ford should sue DC for using the Futura.
Sued a small time business for $20,000 but yet have millions that’s pathetic,
Mark should never have lost this lawsuit imo. In music, different artists can record the same song without violating copyright law because the specific arrangement is deemed to be different. The same should apply here. While it's certainly a batmobile in look and style, it's essentially a cover of the batmobile. That's why it was marketed as a replica to begin with.
10% is the allowed difference
I'm not sure cos if someone made say figures of the batmobile and didn't have permission they'd likely be getting sued for it. I'm guessing they see it as copywrite infringement if you make replicas of anything, of any scale.
I argue that it cannot be a character when it’s been duplicated by the plaintiff…
So does this mean noone can put a red light that scrolls back and forth on the front of a Trans am cuz it'll be an attempt to replicate kit?
which is funny, because the scrolling light is a nod to the cylon warriors in battlestar galactica.......LOL
This show reminds me of OCC, both shops build trash.
And cover things in spider web! Lol
Their cars are horrible.
I always thought the show was terrible.. why did the builder stand quiet whilst the other guy gives the hard sell..then has to ask the builders permission to buy or sell at a price get rid of the pointless cringy middle man.
Pimp my ride remix
Nothing says “Thanks for being a fan” like suing them.
That Tesla with a 383 stroker is worth a quarter million dollars not 100 grand should have taken it to Barrett-Jackson big mistake that buyer should have paid the 90k
It's pretty clear that this guy needs to pay a licensing fee to WB to sell an item clearly based on their IP.
I think Mark was dead right and Warner bros should now since they won be forced to actually start building the same replicas for the same price or lower
On the other side how many people ideas has Warner Bros.just taken.and just made their own..and said it was their idea along...
5:22 i see what it transform. Dayum what a play toy
It sounds like a monopoly
It's pathetic that WB sued, I can't abide this suing culture or that these giant companies can legally squash the little guy; they could have left him to get on, make a decent living and provide pleasure to those who want one. They have enough money and the two businesses are not related, he makes replica cars, they make films, comics, toys. Just glad he only got a slap on the wrist with the 20K fine and it no doubt cost WB more in legal fees too.
The idiot was advertising, building, and selling Batmobiles. Everyone’s attorneys got a pay day..
It's to bring web traffic back to the batman series
It's all because of the Ugly AF Concept car. Seriously, that was a total disappointment 😔😔 not to mention the bike 🤮🤮
What made him think he could pull a fast one so obvious and get away with it? He knew what he was doing and got caught.
They don't want people to make money off their copyright name Gotham and Batman
Mark Racop, owner of Fiberglass Freaks is the ONLY officially licensed 1966 Batmobile reproduction manufacturer. Everything else is a knock-off…of a knock-off…of a knock-off…
And didn't he have fun with an LA customer and the LA Sherrifs dept in an abuse of power and juristictional over-reach case! Was glad when the courts sided with him on that one.
So he got sued for making a good ass replicate??
Basically DC comics have a copyright ©️ on The fake city of gotham.
I mainly watched show for the eye candy! Miss Nunes❤❤❤❤
Yeah all the car shit got in the way
all that and he gets sued for 20 grand wtf waste of my time
$20,000?? I hope Warner Brothers spends their big payday wisely. The legal fees alone far exceed that. Seems like a total waste of time.
i would say they whent easy on him.
If that's the case,, than why not sue the Chinese for all the replicas they are making? There are even Rolls-Royce riplicas but with some Chinese name. Wtf
I saw the show I Think its rediculous. Its not like he produce toys and figures. Its a replica for Christ sake..
If he was building that replica for himself, I doubt there would be a problem. But he was profiting from WB IP. He even built a website to promote and sell that IP....IP that didn't ever belong to him! WB are completely within their rights. If anything, I reckon they went easy on him! The show was a sooo fake, why would WB want to be associated with them in any form. The use of their name alone was enough to such them down and cease every asset they created whilst operating under the name Gotham.
I think wb went easy on him, like for real man your gonna make something that's so close to what they made an not even let them know your doing it. I get it man the cars are night an day different but get permits for the likeness an name. 20k is a small bill for what they could have done. I love the Gotham garage and it was an excellent show. But this is the due to the cost of knowing what a project of tha caliber takes to do. An he nailed it in my eyes. Just get that permission first ya know
DC has a licensed builder that they have an agreement with, and Gotham Garage isn't it. And no one watches this show for any of these reasons, and yes, she does have her own social media channels.
Using part of the story in your name is one thing. Making direct copies is another.
Unfair competition.? They were not building and selling Batman cars.
Maybe but he was in the wrong for making direct replicas using the name
Should just go with Gothic no law suit.
I say no because the car was sold as aa Replica not a original it was not a replica because the engine was not the same so I fact it was different see I build cars so what they did in my opinion was OK if the engine was the same they might have a shot but since it was different it was
I love Constance too many.
It's 💯% infringement
This is the exact reason most of Cosplayers and fan artist are totaly ilegal ... I don't agree with this fact but it's a sad fact.
I love the show but Mark had to know he was wrong for building and marketing the replica's. It's not like he was throwing SS Badges on a 72 Malibu or throwing Boss decals on a V6 Mustang.... he was completely copying the Batmobiles in every aspect and marketing them as "Batmobile replica's" and profiting it. that would be like a potato Chip company making a bag of potato chips in a bag that looks like Ruff;les and calling them "Ruffles Replica's".....
What damages??
Being associated with a fake businesses that produces the worst quality builds of all the faux "garages" on TV right now...and that is a big call when considering how much dodgy crap there is in "reality" TV these days. When B is for Build was sued over Eleanor, everyone was on his side. But this lot guys are clowns that ripped off their name, and the creative direction of more than one build. WB went easy on them!
The reality is that there is already a DC licensed builder of at least the 66 Batmobile. In addition, each Batmobile created under any DC product from comics, TV shows, Movies, and video games are copywrite by design regardless of the parts it takes to build one. You simply cannot replicate and sell something as the original thing and then sell a lot of them without some big eyebrows being raised. His mistake was not reaching out to WB to work a deal for a licensed product while selling them as the "original" cars. The fact that WB only went for 20K is really nothing to them as they clearly could have completely shut him down but did not. That is rare and to their credit which WB is in very short supply of late with all the woke garbage they are pimping out destroying their own franchises and losing millions of dollars.
This opens yet another can of worms. Copyrights expire 70 years after the death of the original author, so how is it that competing companies such as pharmaceutical, firearms, and yes even auto companies adapt each other’s intellectual property as quickly as they do, let alone the recent phenomenon of music artists dodging copyright laws by calling it “sampling “.
I only watched cause of Constance ❤🍒
Why he look like it for Otto from sons of anarchy
There you have it. Design was based on a 59 Futura. Therefore, the "batmobile" isn't an original design, making the copyright lawsuit null and void. Why can't a company like DC comics just be stoked that people love something enough to make it themselves?? They've made billions, yet somehow its never enough. If I was the owner, I'd tell DC that if they want to keep fans, stopping them from being able to have a piece of comic book history is not the way to go. Marvel blows DC out the water anyway, just saying.
Happy Father's Day to all you father
As much as I respect the work put in by Mark and his crew, I have to side with WB. They were lucky it was only $20k, I think they recognized that he actually brought attention to the franchise with his incredible craftsmanship. Maybe they can find something for him to build or be a part of in the future.
Their paint jobs are not up to par at all the body on the cats are wavy and the paint is dull
Thats bs mark isnt wrong at all there are mods for pretty much every car now adays
i watched for the girl
It's the same damn show every time! The guy with the blond hair talks out his azz!
I think its stupid, Warner brothers never has or will produce any version of the bat-mobile for consumer purchase. other than a toy, If the lic holder is not producing something for general purchase then it should have no claim to the reproduction of Marks cars. further more if the cars did not fully feature every gadget the Movie cars did then they are not the same . Seeing how the 60s Tv show was 90% based off a concept car then Warner brothers should have no real claim. Now if Mark produced a car that was latter used in a Batman remake with out the permission of Warner brothers i can see a lawsuit , As they hold the right to those films.
These guys straight suck down to paint quality. welding quality
because their work isnt as nice as they and their price make it seem?
Crap work from a crap garage = crap show.
Not gonna watch the full video… but I’m sure it’s because Warner Brother’s would be absolutely embarrassed to have Gotham garage remake anything of theirs. They make a terrible product with horrible quality. 🤮
We have a Gotham city brothel in Melbourne 😂
He is copying Batmobiles period.
I was a fan of Russ Martin and remember when he started buying all his replica cars....met him many times at events where he brought his Mach 5, Batmobile, and even his Starsky & Hutch cars. To me, WB suing Gotham for making replicas was about as stupid as the Shelby family suing anyone and everyone who were trying to build replica Elenor GT500's. Just purely ego driven and pointless. Not like DC was out there building replicas for sale...so the whole "competition" issue was absolutely absurd.
where did Russ Martin's Batmobile end up going after he passed?
@@ernestomejia110 Not sure what happened to any of his cars to be honest. And trying to search online yields no results either.
They should sue shaq o neal superman car with superman symbyol alll over it😊
I don't like the idea of official props being sold to private "fans" and the rest of us being unalbe to see them in a museum! I also think if it is something a fan loves he should be able to have one made by a garage without being sued! Replica is not official. therefore should not be subject to "copywrite" issues! stinks both ways to sunday then monday too! Hollywood(movie props)are selling their own officlal ORIGINAL props ot some guy with dark rimmed glasses and a sloppy tee shirt so he and his fat beedy-eyed misus can go on "Collectors" with Blair from Facts of life to tout off but the rest of us can't have access to it! As India says often: "It Belongs in a Museum!!!" But Hollywood won't let us make cars to sell to the rest of the fans! Hollywood must be real insecure despite all thier big $$$,$$$,$$$,$$$,$$$!! But the public is still the losing end! God Damnit to Hell!
That team is remarkable man what they did to that Infiniti 😮. All them cars I really want them to build me a car like no joke. If y’all see this comment I’m coming for you let’s work
Just don’t look at the paint finish on your car too closely!😂
Is this voice coming from a real person?