You Don't Own Pictures You Take Of Your Car

[96 Pony]

Unbelievable. I understand protecting ones Intellectual Property Rights but this is ridiculous - especially as bad a shape Ford is in - ticking off your core customers is not a good idea.

 

The synopsis of what happened, written by one of BlackMustang's members:

 

For the last couple of years, Ford Motor Company has been on a rampage, seeking out and destroying any business, club, or organization using the Ford Mustang moniker in their titles. I can understand Ford wanting to make sure that if anyone is making money off the Mustang name, it had better be them.

 

But here's the kicker. I am a Mustang owner, a graphics artist, a photographer, and a respected member of on of the more prominent forum-based Mustang clubs, BlackMustangClub.com. A few of us in the club decided to make a 2008 Calendar, featuring pictures of Mustangs owned by the club's Members of the Months for 2007. We design the thing, send it off to the press, and quicker than you can say "Go", we receive a letter from the printer saying they were issued a letter from a firm representing the Ford Motor Company, instructing them to remove our calendar, along with MANY other designs, for "use of Ford’s trademarks, including images of their vehicles, infringes upon their intellectual property rights (trademark/trade dress/copyright)." They flagged all the items which had to be removed from the site, which included computer rendered images of the club owner's Mustang! How in the world does Ford think they own rights to someone's personal artwork? Just because it's a Mustang? I don't remember seeing anything in my sales contract when I bought my Mustang that said I would forfeit "intellectual rights" to any photos I might take of MY car. Thousands of dollars say that car belongs to ME, not Ford. Oh, and apparently Ford is having some identity issues, because another one of the items flagged for removal was an image of a Dodge Charger SRT-8! Again, where does Ford get off thinking they own any kind of rights to that??

 

And what about all the magazines that publish pictures of Mustangs? Do they have to pay royalties to Ford? Or is Ford just out to squash anyone they don't think is bringing them business? Because I'll tell you something; I've known at least 2 people that have bought brand new Mustangs from Ford after seeing mine and other's Mustangs, either in real life or in pictures. So I have to believe that I'm actually doing some advertising for Ford Motor Company. And if that's the case, I want my commission, dammit! Haha!

 

They have lost a future customer in me until they change their ways.

 

Black Mustang Thread (The Topic Starts At Around Post 40) :reading:

Edited January 13, 2008 by 96 Pony

[blazerdude20]

you own the rights to your car but sorry to say ford is right on this one

 

if you handmade the calander with a publisher it probably wouldnt matter but you want a publisher to work that is in a round about way copyrighted by fomoco and chrysler prob did the same with the srt-8

 

same thing how you cant draw a yankees logo and try and publish it.

 

you need express written consent, because you COULD make money off of their trademark.

[retro-man]

Leonardo's family called, and they want back royalties on all those photos of the Mona Lisa that have ever been published.

 

 

Ass-clown lawyers. "Intellectual" (I use the term loosely) copyright has gotten so far out of hand in this country that it's not even funny. I hope to live long enough to see that whole system crash down. I got a link from somebody lately about an attempt by one of the big companies - was it HP, or IBM, or ..... to patent the process of licensing patents! As the article said, "Intellectual Property has finally consumed itself!"

[96 Pony]

you own the rights to your car but sorry to say ford is right on this one

 

if you handmade the calander with a publisher it probably wouldnt matter but you want a publisher to work that is in a round about way copyrighted by fomoco and chrysler prob did the same with the srt-8

 

same thing how you cant draw a yankees logo and try and publish it.

 

you need express written consent, because you COULD make money off of their trademark.

 

These guys took pictures of their own cars and then sent them off to have a calendar made for the members of their group. I belong to a Thunderbird forum and they do the same thing.

 

As long as it is not offered to the general public or as long as they are not using a Mustang/Blue Oval logo then they should be within their rights.

[Edstock]

That's why they have weasel words, like "xxxxx is a registered trademark of the Veeblefetzer Corp." Did these people use any? Like, "all logos and model names are trademarks owned by the Ford Motor Company"?

 

It is always better to get permission from the copyright owner, and can be (but not always) necessary for using logos like the Ford oval or the Mustang pony.

[focus05]

The problem with these types of cases is that if you let one group get away with it, it is much harder to stop other groups from infringing intellectual property in some cases. At some point, you put your foot down. There was the potential for the club to make a significant amount of money. There was the possibility of Chrysler coming after Ford for having and SRT image in there, etc, etc.

 

We also don't know the whole story. One person claims it was a harsh cease and desist letter while it may have been a cautionary letter from lawyers (they don't know how to write emotionally, so you can't really tell sometimes). It's unlikely, but it's possible.

 

Is the group registered as a non-profit? Or are they just a casual group that could theoretically bring in "income" off the sales of these calendars?

 

No story is ever this one-dimensional. It does seem like a jerk move, but I doubt Ford legal would have done it without good reason - either to protect them or the club, or both. Legal departments, because of their cost and critical nature of their job, are usually very deliberate.

 

The good news is, this will probably reach the attention of someone pretty high up given its growing coverage. I would expect an interesting response and resolution at some point.

[syrtran]

These guys took pictures of their own cars and then sent them off to have a calendar made for the members of their group. I belong to a Thunderbird forum and they do the same thing.

 

As long as it is not offered to the general public or as long as they are not using a Mustang/Blue Oval logo then they should be within their rights.

Sorry, they were offering the calendar through CafePress, which is an internet store (a very-well-known internet store, BTW), which means the calendars were being "offered to the general public." The calendars were not limited to the (many) members of their group. Ford is right on this one.

[akirby]

This was a huge misunderstanding with people jumping to a LOT of incorrrect conclusions.

 

Explained here at BMC forums.

 

My name is Whitney Drake and I work in Ford Communications.

We've been watching this discussion with interest and I'd like to

clarify what is essentially a misunderstanding.

 

Yesterday we spoke to both Cafe Press and the Black Mustang Club

and explained the situation (about the Black Mustang Club’s calendar) to everyone's satisfaction. Ford has no problem with Mustang or other car owners taking pictures of their vehicles for use in club materials like calendars. What we do have an issue with are individuals using Ford’s logo and other trademarks for products they intend to sell. Understandably, we have to take the protection of our brands and licensing very seriously.

 

Ford did not send the Black Mustang Club a “cease and desist” letter telling them that they could not use images of their own cars in their calendar. The decision not to allow the calendars to be printed was made by Cafe Press, because we had gotten in touch with them in the past about trademark infringements on products they sold.

 

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.

 

I think it is great that the Black Mustang Club, and any other enthusiast club, would take pictures of their own vehicles for use in calendars or other materials.

 

I'm looking forward to purchasing a copy to hang in the garage next

to my Mustang (even if mine isn't black).

 

Thanks for giving us the chance to have our say.

[Mark B. Morrow]

Apparently, the situation was resolved. I guess the powers that be at Ford Communications really do monitor the internets. I guess the matter of the Mustang parts vendors using Mustang in their names has been settled as well. I havent seen anything about that in the Mustang magazines for a few months. I also see that Mustangs plus is still using their name.

 

Good work to all involved.

Edited January 19, 2008 by Mark B. Morrow

[LincolnFan]

Wow.. can you spell duh? CafePress sells Calenders, and these guys wanted to profit from Ford, whether they meant it or not. As long as they don't include trademarks and keep it non-profit Ford won't/can't object.

Edited January 19, 2008 by LincolnFan

[96 Pony]

Well I stand corrected. And I work in the legal field so obviously my love of Mustangs clouded my judgment on this matter.

 

I am totally with Ford protecting their rights to the Blue Oval and the Mustang logo. Especially since the Blue Oval is currently mortgaged.

[Roadrunner]

Unbelievable. I understand protecting ones Intellectual Property Rights but this is ridiculous - especially as bad a shape Ford is in - ticking off your core customers is not a good idea.

 

The synopsis of what happened, written by one of BlackMustang's members:

 

For the last couple of years, Ford Motor Company has been on a rampage, seeking out and destroying any business, club, or organization using the Ford Mustang moniker in their titles. I can understand Ford wanting to make sure that if anyone is making money off the Mustang name, it had better be them.

 

But here's the kicker. I am a Mustang owner, a graphics artist, a photographer, and a respected member of on of the more prominent forum-based Mustang clubs, BlackMustangClub.com. A few of us in the club decided to make a 2008 Calendar, featuring pictures of Mustangs owned by the club's Members of the Months for 2007. We design the thing, send it off to the press, and quicker than you can say "Go", we receive a letter from the printer saying they were issued a letter from a firm representing the Ford Motor Company, instructing them to remove our calendar, along with MANY other designs, for "use of Ford’s trademarks, including images of their vehicles, infringes upon their intellectual property rights (trademark/trade dress/copyright)." They flagged all the items which had to be removed from the site, which included computer rendered images of the club owner's Mustang! How in the world does Ford think they own rights to someone's personal artwork? Just because it's a Mustang? I don't remember seeing anything in my sales contract when I bought my Mustang that said I would forfeit "intellectual rights" to any photos I might take of MY car. Thousands of dollars say that car belongs to ME, not Ford. Oh, and apparently Ford is having some identity issues, because another one of the items flagged for removal was an image of a Dodge Charger SRT-8! Again, where does Ford get off thinking they own any kind of rights to that??

 

And what about all the magazines that publish pictures of Mustangs? Do they have to pay royalties to Ford? Or is Ford just out to squash anyone they don't think is bringing them business? Because I'll tell you something; I've known at least 2 people that have bought brand new Mustangs from Ford after seeing mine and other's Mustangs, either in real life or in pictures. So I have to believe that I'm actually doing some advertising for Ford Motor Company. And if that's the case, I want my commission, dammit! Haha!

 

They have lost a future customer in me until they change their ways.

 

Black Mustang Thread (The Topic Starts At Around Post 40) :reading:

 

 

It's all about the image of the vehicle when compiled into a calendar based off the Mustang name and heritage. That's why they want to charge you money for use, because it utilizes the Mustang name and image in a way that profits off of the car.

[Roadrunner]

EDIT:

---- strike that, totally incorrect.

Edited January 20, 2008 by Roadrunner