wyominghotwheels Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Well, i have to tell ya, i am very disappointed in you ford. Why in the would you start going after the little guy's? http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../605100302/1003 Is this part of your new bold move's approach? I find this to be a very sad time for our hobby. You (ford), want people to buy your product's and enjoy them. Part of this include's buying part's to help make our car's a little more fun. Which involve's purchasing part's from aftermarket part's dealer's and alot of these are found by searching the internet, by typing in Mustang Parts, which bring's up alot of the great aftermarket part's dealer's, whom have done nothing wrong, other than use the name mustang to help lure in customer's.....and now you are going after the little guy and shutting down these little companies because they have the word mustang in their business name? That my friends is up and i can't believe that ford find's this type of practice, business savvy. With ford about to be knocked out of the Number 2 position of selling car's and and GM going into near bankruptcy, i would think the last thing you would do is damage your reputation by shutting down mustang store's and site's. Taking a man's business and then demanding them to give you their website to boot, is just wrong. I currently own 6 ford product's and have never really had a bad thing to say about ford as a business, but after reading this article, i am sick. I find this very offensive in so many way's, it isn't funny. Not knocking the men and women whom work for ford, but i hope you company fall's into bankruptcy now. Maybe it is time that toyota and honda become the real company for the future. I am sure that toyota enjoy's seeing their car name's being shared amoungst those that enjoy their car's and truck's. Anyway's, enough of my rant for now, but i hope your greedy corporate attorney's enjoy shutting down the little company just to make a buck on the Bold Move's forward........... hotwheels of InsaneMUSTANGS.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. KABC Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Why should Ford allow some two-bit operator to make money off THEIR branded product? If your friend the small company wants to make money have him come up with his own concept and ideas and market them. If he wants to dovetail off a successful Ford product then he needs to become a licensed dealer and pay the fee like everyone else. Don't get mad at Ford because they won't let you steal Ford's intellectual property for YOUR gain. Make your own. Invent the next Pet Rock or something and rake in the $millions. No sympathy here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr511scj Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 If he wants to dovetail off a successful Ford product then he needs to become a licensed dealer and pay the fee like everyone else. Don't get mad at Ford because they won't let you steal Ford's intellectual property for YOUR gain. Make your own. Invent the next Pet Rock or something and rake in the $millions. No sympathy here. You don't understand the issue. Ford's jackbooted IP lawyers in Salt Lake City are jacking up people who aren't "stealing" any intellectual property from Ford. They are aftermarket parts vendors and makers who build or sell IMPROVED products and accessories to replace the cost-cutter crap Dearborn saddles us with or to replace stuff Ford discontinued (apparently they didn't care enough about the customers to keep building the parts, did they?). There is no chance Ford will lose their intellectual rights to their brand names just because someone claims a new, improved part they designed will fit on a F-RD or a M-st-ng or because somebody's 40-year-old business of selling M-st-ng parts has been named "Smashmouth Mustang Parts" or somesuch. Nobody with a brain has any substantial risk of becoming confused (besides, who would believe Billy's hapless regime would make ANYTHING REMOTELY COOL to fit on a '65 Mustang, anyhow?) Furthermore, Ford reportedly is going after other "names" such as "Pony" in their pathetic attempt to extort cash from small aftermarket vendors. Perhaps all these folks should just move off-shore and sell over the internet to avoid the heavy hand of Dearborn "Justice." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford4v429 Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 I gotta agree on this one- nobodys selling a competing 'mustang' they are supporting existing Ford products. theres a couple trains of thought here- the legalese 'to the letter' stuff that says "I created the widget and if youre gonna sell parts for 40 year old widgets that I no longer produce I still get a cut as long as widget is mentioned"...to me this is kind of silly- unless someones making junk, representing it as OEM widget product, I kinda think its just enthusiast support. Look at Disney/Harley Davidson/Gravedigger, theres licensing for even mentioning sometimes(sorry guys, didnt have the little circled R to throw on those)...Ive heard Harley is one of the strongest, but guess they havent started cracking down on tattoo artists- yet. The point is at what point is the 'name' a positive thing? if Ford Galaxie club of America, or Ford Mustang Club of America are basically enthusiast groups- positive thing for Ford, then theres AllFordMustangForums, mustangforums, and a bizillion others, does any of that take away anything from ford? If the starchy legalese word benders out there get too carried away, perhaps we would not be able to sell our cars- sorry the license to display product name was sold to original purchaser in paragraph 3 subpart G of purchase agreement back page...look at software licensing- I dont think legally you can sell a used computer without erasing the operating system part of the harddrive- you dont own, its just a license...OK, so legally a tuner that modifys the original tune in any way would be plagerizing all the untouched stuff on the reflash??? think about it, its not right. you cant own the tune in your car- its software, so its copyrighted, maybe patented too, but copyrighted is forever. you could write a book on how to wipe your butt and if copyrighted, its 'yours' forever. yet you can make a machine that cures cancer, produces free energy, and only emissions are free food and water, patent it, and in only 7 years its free to copy. I think if someone wants to take the time to recreate a die to recast a 65 mustang script emblem or whatnot, it should not be held illegal. Didnt someone eons ago call a car AMERICAN? I bet someone did...if ford was smart, theyd research that, buy the copyright, and sue the first few pages in every business phonebook in the country- at least the ones started after that car was named...you know, back when Safir Engineering tried holding ford over a barrel on the GT40 name rights, I bet Ford got pissed. names should not be bought and sold. as long as a competitor is not knocking off a current product(heck if GM wants to reproduce 66 mustang floormats, let them)...its a tough call, but going after vendors/forums/teeshirt airbrushing artists is awful petty, and makes ford look bad. imagine if Geely Motors started copying the mustang...they could change a radius here or there by a millimeter, to where without a template you'd never tell them apart, slap a different name on it an sell it for 10k...somehow that would be legal. but if they made a 1/25 scale model of a mustang and called it a mustang that would be illegal? legal and logical dont ever seem to match for some reason...perhaps because legal is trying to define vague concepts into hard lines, and it can never be done properly. Ford would be in better shape if they got rid of some lawyers and hired some more designers to work with the crew that did the gt and mustang. Generally most folks dont like anybody that communicates thru a lawyer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyominghotwheels Posted May 28, 2006 Author Share Posted May 28, 2006 Mr. KABC, i think you are really missing the point of what is happening here. This has nothing to do with inventing part's to make something better, it has to do with a hobby and keeping it alive. From the list of car's you have on your sig, i would think that you have probably bought a part from one of these company's that are being targeted by ford. I am sure you will say you haven't, but we all know that in order to keep our stang's running or to keep one together, you have to buy the part's somewhere. Ford doesn't carry part's for stuff like your 2.3L car anymore. If you want fender's, dash mat's, gauges, etc.....to keep your car original, you have to use an aftermarket company. If the Ford Motor Company is in so much financial trouble as they claim, why would you start going after the company's that keep people coming back to buying ford product's? Why does ford sponsor SEMA? Why did ford have it's own svt webpage? I personally don't think Bill Ford has any idea that corporate lawyer's are targeting the little guy. I think he understand's that in order to keep a car like the mustang thriving, you HAVE to have an aftermarket, that way you keep loyal customer's for year's to come. These lawyer's are only trying to make a buck off of Bill Ford's Dovetail. Mr. KABC, do you take your 05 (if you really have one) to car show's? If you do, do you ever take it to show's that only have Ford vehicle's in it? Do you think it will be okay when the lawyer's start going after car show's to stop them from sharing the Ford branded vehicle name (All ford car show, Mustang Car show, All Ford day Racing, etc.....) Maybe the car show's you go to need to stop trying to advertise using ford's branded name, eh? Nough said, hotwheels of insaneMUSTANGS.com and the MUSTANGS in my site name come from horse's that were in this country........Or will ford now kill off the Mustang horse's because they share the same name? Oh my......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr511scj Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 IFord would be in better shape if they got rid of some lawyers and hired some more designers to work with the crew that did the gt and mustang. Generally most folks dont like anybody that communicates thru a lawyer... Well said (the whole thing, not just the part I highlighted)! Nobody ever accused the current Ford management of knowing how to leverage the "good will" of the legions of Ford loyalists and Ford builders out there. Cutting the budget again and hiring a thug crew of bottom-feeding pirate-lawyers is easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe771476 Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I have been unofficially "selling" Ford products to my friends and relatives for 40 years. If I don't see Ford immediately withdraw from this insane legal maneuver, I will start pushing Toyotas..........which I hate! Apparently Ford is in need of cash badly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro-man Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Agree with the majority opinion on this thread. This is just like the political discourse in this country: hijacked by extremists. On the one hand, you have people in countries like China pirating billions and billions of dollars worth of intellectual and physical property, and on the other hand you have these ass-clown lawyers cooking up boilerplate claiming that they own everything you've ever seen, heard, dreamed of or conceived for yours and all generations in perpetuity. Lost in the middle is anything resembling common sense. Somebody higher up in Ford needs to find the over-eager little weasel behind this and bitch-slap them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonic Boom NH Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Have to agree with the majority here in this is nothing more then an attempt by a company that is so out of focus with its customers, has no clue about customer service or satisfaction, and is in a tailspin of losing market share to other manufactures that have a clue, like Toyota. The perception is that since Ford is on the way down why not try to scrap up some money on the way down, or since they are on the way out why not take as many down with them. Absolutely no sound logical moral reason to go after other businesses that simply use the name Mustang. If Ford truly knew their customers, if they truly knew how to run a successful business they would be assisting the little guys who help to promote Ford products. They actually provide Ford a service with advertisement and it really should be Ford paying them fees since they are the foundation of Ford’s customers. I still have hope Ford can pull out of their tail spin. I have been a loyal customer for over 20 years and really would like to purchase a new 2007 Mustang without getting screwed by their dealerships but reading these kinds of things just helps to drain the hope. Sure wish Ford themselves would start making some BOLD MOVES on their own rather then preaching to us about bold moves… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KdF Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Maybe S.M.U. <That`s Southern Methodist University> in Texas , should sue the pants off of Ford. Iococca took the name of "Their" team and used it after winning a big ballgame way back , and I`m sure there is some precidence of "Intellectual Property" with S.M.U.`s mascot. And I believe that they have been using that reason to try and "Own" a name. It`s a freaking word! Maybe every person with the name of FORD should sue to get their royalties , heck , they were BORN owning the name. ..........Or will they go after them too..............? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
666COS Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 I think the reason why this is going on is because of Pepboys ("Futura") and GT40 Spares. If you remember after this spectacle Ford said they would be going after their vehicle names!!! so i dont know why this isnt a surprise. secondly everything was fine until "Pepboys" and "GT40 Spares" tried to extort money from Ford. A few bad eggs screws everyone over! Personally i dont blame Ford for this at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyominghotwheels Posted June 8, 2006 Author Share Posted June 8, 2006 The more day's that go by, the more pissed off i get about this deal. I still can't believe that ford continue's to pay these bottom feeding lawyer's to go after business's and website's. errrrrrrrrr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark B. Morrow Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 I think the reason why this is going on is because of Pepboys ("Futura") and GT40 Spares. If you remember after this spectacle Ford said they would be going after their vehicle names!!! so i dont know why this isnt a surprise. secondly everything was fine until "Pepboys" and "GT40 Spares" tried to extort money from Ford. A few bad eggs screws everyone over! Personally i dont blame Ford for this at all. Ford is in no jeopardy of losing the Mustang name. the car has been in continuous production for 42 years. I disagree with the decision on the Futura name since no one would confuse tires with cars. Ford should have won that argument, I wonder if they tried. Pep Boys makes Dakota tires and Dodge makes a Dakota Truck, no confusion. What about the proliferation of Fusions? Gillette and V-8 are using it too. I do blame Ford for the heavy handed tactics of the lawyers it employs. As a lawyer myself, I have to answer to my clients. Ford could direct their counsel to work out a deal that would license the name at nominal cost. Most of these suppliers already have licenses for the parts they sell. The position simply makes no sense. These businesses are Ford's customers. The vast majority use Ford vehicles for their businesses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyominghotwheels Posted June 9, 2006 Author Share Posted June 9, 2006 well said Mark B. Morrow..........I hope ford is looking at letting these small business's buy a yearly license fee. To me, that would be the correct way to handle it, instead of trying to extort money from these companies or threatening to trash them in federal court. Some of these guy's have been in business for well over 25 years.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bored of Pisteon Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 I have been unofficially "selling" Ford products to my friends and relatives for 40 years. If I don't see Ford immediately withdraw from this insane legal maneuver, I will start pushing Toyotas..........which I hate! Apparently Ford is in need of cash badly! Yeah, they really need the $$$ what's the cash now stand at? $20+ Billion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford4v429 Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Agree with the majority opinion on this thread. This is just like the political discourse in this country: hijacked by extremists. On the one hand, you have people in countries like China pirating billions and billions of dollars worth of intellectual and physical property, and on the other hand you have these ass-clown lawyers cooking up boilerplate claiming that they own everything you've ever seen, heard, dreamed of or conceived for yours and all generations in perpetuity. Lost in the middle is anything resembling common sense. Somebody higher up in Ford needs to find the over-eager little weasel behind this and bitch-slap them. this is one of the best posts on the subject to date, could not agree more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford4v429 Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 just saw a link to this from another forum: pasting from boss302.com- dated june 12th <<Mustang trademark issue being resolved I met with Jim Owens, Ford's Mustang Marketing Manager, during the Mid-America Shelby Meet in Tulsa this past weekend. I am happy to report that Jim, who had no prior knowledge of the cease and desist letter going out to companies about using word Mustang in their company names, is working with Ford's legal department to resolve the issue. At this point, the cease and desist letter is no longer being sent out and they are trying to figure out how to work with the companies that have received the letter. Nothing official has been drawn up, but it's in the works and I will be sure to let you guys know when it happens. Sounds like they are considering something like a small fee, perhaps just $1, for the use of the name, renewable over a certain amount of time. Of course, companies that are not legit - deceitful, fraudulent, etc. - will still be contacted. Like I said, it's not official yet, but at least something is in the works to fix the situation. Donald Farr Mustang Monthly >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyominghotwheels Posted June 21, 2006 Author Share Posted June 21, 2006 If that is the case, that is awesome news.......... I met with Jim Owens, Ford's Mustang Marketing Manager, during the Mid-America Shelby Meet in Tulsa this past weekend. I am happy to report that Jim, who had no prior knowledge of the cease and desist letter going out to companies about using word Mustang in their company names, is working with Ford's legal department to resolve the issue. At this point, the cease and desist letter is no longer being sent out and they are trying to figure out how to work with the companies that have received the letter. Nothing official has been drawn up, but it's in the works and I will be sure to let you guys know when it happens. Sounds like they are considering something like a small fee, perhaps just $1, for the use of the name, renewable over a certain amount of time. Of course, companies that are not legit - deceitful, fraudulent, etc. - will still be contacted. Like I said, it's not official yet, but at least something is in the works to fix the situation. hotwheels of insanemustangs.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 to keep your car original, you have to use an aftermarket company. Woah man, I think you just blew out my 'Contradiction' circuits... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F250 Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 If that is the case, that is awesome news..........hotwheels of insanemustangs.com This is nothing new, and it has been done to Ford by other companies. As a Mustang enthusiast you must remember that in Europe Ford could not even use the name Mustang on their own car. If you were in the service stationed in Europe (Germany) in 1966 and went to buy a new Mustang from the local German Ford dealer you couldn't buy one...you got a T-5. It seems some German lawn mower (or some other non-automotive) company had copywrited the name Mustang and Ford was not able to use it so all Mustangs sold there were badged T-5 and the word Mustang did not appear on those cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.