Best method & tool to remove vehicle license/number plate & legal issues?

Question

Level 1

10 points

Best method & tool to remove vehicle license/number plate & legal issues?

Hi,

I often take pictures of unusual or classic vehicles, VW campers in particular and sell printed copies.

I usually find such vehicles in public car parks at coastal resorts and their owners aren't allways there to ask. On a lot I crop in and exclude the number/license plate. On others where the plate is still visible I sometimes use the clone tool to blank out the characters by cloning the surrounding plate area over them but this is very time consuming and doesn't allways work very well.

Can anyone reccomend a better way from within Aperture?

Often the owners spot my pictures of their vehicle on my website and they are usually complementary but one or two I think resent me making a couple of quid out of their vehicles. Does anyone know the legal issues of selling pictures of peoples vehicles bearing in mind they are all taken in public places ie not on their owners private property? Is it necessary for me to blank out the number plates if I haven't gained the owners permission?

Regards,
Dave.

MacPro, 2.66GHz Quad Xeon 8GB (Sept '09), Mac OS X (10.6.2), www.DaveGaskellPictures.com

Posted on Mar 24, 2010 10:11 AM

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Answer 1

pvonk

Level 6

13,857 points

Mar 24, 2010 11:41 AM in response to d60Dave

I would think that a pixel editor like Photoshop is the natural application to use if you really want to do a good job removing (or better still, changing) a license number.

As for legalities, I can't comment on UK laws - I'd be surprised if US laws forbade using such pictures, given how many pictures of celebrities make it into the tabloids.

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Answer 2

Mar 24, 2010 12:22 PM in response to d60Dave

I would just draw a selection around the number and then use the gaussian blur to make it unreadable. Just like they do on America's Funniest Videos when peoples pants fall down.

Shouldn't take more than a few seconds.

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Answer 3

Gary

Level 2

189 points

Mar 24, 2010 1:49 PM in response to d60Dave

Hi Dave

Does anyone know the legal issues of selling pictures of peoples vehicles bearing in mind they are all taken in +public places+ ie not on their owners private property?

I'm no lawyer, but I don't believe most carparks (which you mention later) are classed as public places. That might change your circumstances.

As to whether or not you could +make a couple of quid+ (that's commerce) legally, without owner consent, you'd probably best advised to seek advice from a qualified professional. Sorry I can't be more definitive.

Regards,
Gary

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Answer 4

d60Dave Author

Level 1

10 points

Mar 24, 2010 3:13 PM in response to Gary

- thanks Gary,

Is a public car park not considered a public place? And if they're parked on the side of a public highway is that not also a public place?

Anyhow, like you say perhaps I'm best seeking proffessional legal advice.

Cheers,
Dave.

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Answer 5

Gary

Level 2

189 points

Mar 24, 2010 3:26 PM in response to d60Dave

Is a public car park not considered a public place?

Not sure exactly how you'd define a public car park.

Here in Glasgow, I can think of three car-parks off the top of my head. Two near my work: one is attached to the Buchanan Galleries shopping centre and the other is NCP. Nearer home is the big car park for the local Asda superstore. I guarantee you that none of them are +public places+. The public are permitted to use them by the owners - sometimes for a charge, sometimes for free - but that does not make them public places.

A local council provided car-park at the sea-side might be... Not sure about that scenario.

And if they're parked on the side of a public highway is that not also a public place?

In most cases, that would, I think, be classed as a public place.

Regards,
Gary

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Answer 6

F Shippey

Level 7

21,500 points

Mar 24, 2010 4:10 PM in response to d60Dave

perhaps I'm best seeking proffessional legal advice

I would think that's a good idea. I suspect people with enough money to have and fix-up classic cars, probably also have enough money to afford a lawyer to file a lawsuit against you.

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