OK here is the deal with the KY plates.
The old plates (not the ones before the happy face, but actually two plates ago) looked like this:
My favorite Kentucky plate ever, with the twin spires of Churchill Downs and the mare and foal running in the middle.
What happened was that a German photographer, Peter Thomann, sued the state for copyright infringement, saying that the image on the plates was similar to his photograph, 1963's Stute mit Fohlen or Mare and Foal, seen here:
Which actually, only the Kentucky Horse Park has permission to use, in their logo (seen here, sorry image is so small):
Kentucky changed the plates shortly after all this came up.
Lots of people have been putting stickers over the smiley faces (whom the state is calling "Mr. Smiley"). I could post some of them here but not all are safe for the young'ns!!!! Many people have argues issuing a lame standard issue plate is just a ploy to get people to pay more for the special plates, ones that look more normal (spay/neuter, horse council, nature, what-have-you) and I agree. Very sneaky!!!
So there you go. Now you know more that you ever wanted to about Kentucky license plates.
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