mustang club in trouble with ford

[oldzoomer]

interesting article regarding mustang club getting in trouble with ford for producing a mustang calendar
http://culturegarage.com/2008/01/11/ford-sometimes-i-think-you-want-to-fail/

 

[genericuser]

that's blasted ridiculous.

I love mustangs and all, but ford has to wake the hell up.. their lineup is complete trash.

 

[sephiroth]

I'm so angry I can't help but saying the obvious, so excuse me but,

I find this kind of idiotic considering their current situation. Shouldn't they be doing the exact opposite? They already have a weak customer base, but to attack some of their best customers is the most anti-productive move I can see them making.

 

[lasermp5]

idiots. Way to go Ford.

 

[dmitrik4]

regardless of the idiocy of the situation, they don't really have a leg to stand on, legally speaking.

 

[Donas64]

20 years from now, our children will had fond memories of a company called ford that won't exist anymore. Way to go after your loyal supporters

 

[Pirana]

what idiots...I guess it can happen here too...

 

[coolmazda5]

I'm so angry I can't help but saying the obvious, so excuse me but,

I find this kind of idiotic considering their current situation. Shouldn't they be doing the exact opposite? They already have a weak customer base, but to attack some of their best customers is the most anti-productive move I can see them making.

(werd). Free marketing, advertising, market exposure, hmmm, oh no. The context really matters here, and they are applying the rules so blindly. If I were Ford I would have actually been a key calendar sponsor, period.

 

[TinmanMS6]

I'd have sworn I heard the same thing happening last year with Ford and this same club. Hmmm...

 

[Smiling_Jim]

That's what happens when...

Marketing Communications staffers meet with corporate attorneys.

Lots of companies regard their 'Branding' as intellectual property and the courts support this.

Some years back a pre-school in Florida got kicked around by Disney corp because they had mickey and minnie logos painted on the outside of their building.

"Reality will always be controlled by those who are most insane."
--- Dilbert

 

[altspace]

I'd have sworn I heard the same thing happening last year with Ford and this same club. Hmmm...

You sure did. Mazda tried to come after us. Antoine can fill in the details if he so wishes. I too was in a similar situation when I owned/operated a forum website called EclipseWorld.com

 

[jred321]

i think i remember hearing it happening to another more mature focused crowd, corvette and jaguar are popping into my head for some reason

 

[altspace]

Seriously, don't they have better things to do? Think about, the time and man power it takes to waste on this type of thing is dollars not well spent in my opinion.

 

[Hughes412]

BUTTTT, don't for get that Mazda is just as bad. Remember when they gave us hell over the forums name? They ALL think like that. It's not just ford.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

what idiots...

 

[SuperStretch18]

I love how they edited the banner:

Seriously, that's pretty rediculous. Even if Ford makes a few bucks from a lawsuit, they throw their most avid users under the bus. Moronic...

 

[MS6mike]

if this happend to me, i will burn my clutch to hell, burn the flywheel, destroy the turbo seals, break the diff mount, the axle, the engine mounts, and destroy the tires. then ill proceed to not pay my car for 3 months park my car in my garage. and wait till they come and get it. once they do they will realise the car is all USED!

 

[thepepperman]

Well turns out it was not a cease-and-desist order from Ford after all:

http://www.bmcforums.com/showthread.php?t=42820

The calendar was sent to be printed through Cafe Press, which notified Ford about the potential trademark infringement since they had been involved in these issues before. Ford gave the all-clear to the Mustang club as they do not wish to regulate enthusiasts using images of their own cars for car club materials.

 

[BlackCherry06]

Not that I have any reason to care really, but I am curious about this statement from Ford:

"The Black Mustang Club, and any other Ford enthusiast club, are free to take pictures of their own vehicles for use in calendars or other materials as long as they don't use Ford trademarks in products that will be sold."

Well, if you take a picture of a Mustang, isn't the car itself, along with the blue oval, Ford trademarks that pictured in a calendar that's being sold? This is a little unclear to me.

 

[thepepperman]

Well that's why Cafe Press put a hold on the calendar, under the assumption that the Mustang and the attached Ford emblems would constitute trademark infringement. However Ford is saying that is acceptable use of their trademarks. However if the calendar had a huge Ford emblem on the front, or otherwise misled buyers into thinking that it was directly associated with the company, then Ford would probably take issue with it. That is what their statement quoted above indicates to me. As others have argued, Ford legally COULD be dicks about the use of images of the cars for commercial sale, but they are not.