From my point of view, having their colors and logos reproduced in a railroad simulator that never intentionally shows or describes anything that might be detrimental (eventual simulated "crashes" are obviously, well, simulated and do not reflect reality in any way) enhances rather than detracts from a company's image. Yet SP and now, evidently, Pan Am Rail, defy fair use of images easily and publicly available. Or are these route or trademark withdrawals simply examples of corporate paranoia on the part of DTG/RSC?
This is a good point, especially considering the public backlash when Guilford Rail Systems renamed themselves "Pan Am" Railways in 2006 and assumed logos that weren't original to themselves, much less a railroad. The Pan Am logo is everywhere, considering its prior legacy as an airline logo, but since the company now owns the rights to said logos it is understandable that they might want to remove their image from products not directly benefiting them. Pan Am also owns the logos of the Boston & Maine, Maine Central and Portland Terminal Railroads (those entities actually still exist as holding companies within Pan Am) but Pan Am makes no attempt to curb the sales of other merchandise with those logos on them, making me lean towards thinking it was more of a disagreement of licensing between the creators and RSC/DTG.
Regardless, I am curious to know whether or not Pan Am directly gave their permission for the logo to be used or if they recently found out about the Portland Terminal Route, and decided they didn't like it (even though it rightfully fits US copyright law, as explicitly stated). Having your logo in a train simulator certainly isn't detrimental, rather pretty good publicity, and the profits the creators are gaining are most likely marginal compared to what the railroad brings in. However this move wouldn't be surprising for Pan Am, a pretty notorious company here in New England.
