[78novaman]

Ford Motor Company is sicking it's legal department on a Mustang club, preventing them from releasing their annual calender due to copyright infringement. Ford is claiming they own the rights to any photo of a Ford product. This is just ridiculous. I hope this blows up in their face and they are forced to reverse their decision!

Linky: http://www.bmcforums.com/showthread.php?t=42402

[NEW INTERIORS]

This just remind's me why I NEVER liked ford's!!!

[SuthnCustoms]

Sounds to me like MAYBE someone isnt tellin the whole story,i really dont think Ford would file a lawsuite over people's own pics of THEIR cars,could be a photo or 2 in the calender that IS one of Fords copywrighted and not actualy a personal car,the person getting suited for it could be just not telling the whole story to the forum....

[Henry Highrise]

There has been a lot of talk about this on the boards this week. Check it out here. Since you guys like spammers so much, what do you think about corporate oppression?

[Chevrolet4x4s]

Chevy > Ford thats crazy I wonder if that would fall under breach of contract since it wasnt in the papers when they bought it

Shane

[79C10]

I haven't read into it , but all Ford has to do is own the rights to the image /shape of the mustang , ( which ,of course, they do ) and no one would be allowed to reproduce that shape,image , etc. for a profit . ( Not without cutting Ford in on the profits ) .
Think of it like this - Fender owns the rights to the Stratocaster. If a bunch of strat owners put out a calander full of Strats and wanted to use the copyrighted name Fender and Stratocaster , they would of course have to pay the owners of those names. Images are called " Service Marks " because they can't be copyrighted , but they are still protected. and you can't make a "Must hang" calander without saying "Musk dang" and "Fjord"...
besides ,Ford has a right to alienate what little fanbase they have if they want to .

[SuthnCustoms]

ahhh ok..i get it..kinda like if someone put a "ChuboLay" calender out?..i get it now

[jimfulco]

So who owns the rights to this?

[SuthnCustoms]

Originally Posted by jimfulco

So who owns the rights to this?

I do!..thats my sunday cruiser for fishing and picking up the babes in the swamps..where'd ya get that pic?....

[79C10]

Originally Posted by jimfulco

So who owns the rights to this?

No one.
There's not one right thing IN that pic!

[willowbilly3]

Didn't Ford pull that on Obsolete Ford Parts a few years back. They had been operating with Fords permission/blessing then Ford told them they couldn't use the name anymore.
It might go a long way back tho. Has anyone ever seen those old knockoff Model A hubcaps that say Fool instead of Ford. It looks almost right unless you look close.

[MI2600]

This was addressed in an earlier thread. Anyway...

I sent this question to Ford's Public Affairs and I'm waiting for an answer. I've already told them this news is spreading across various boards and is a major blunder PR-wise.

[trees]

Unfortunately, Ford is in their "Last Act Of Defiance" stage and the other remnants of the Big 3 are close behind.

Trees

[MARTINSR]

It has already been mentioned, I'll bet a dollar that the photos of personal cars have nothing to do with this. It is the one photo that was copied from Ford literature. OR, the use of the name "Mustang" on the calender. Now that would still be nuts. But using a photo from Ford literature would be in my opinion good reason to close the thing down.

I can also see the Obsolete Ford issue, "Ford" is a copyrighted name, PERIOD. It would be like Nike using "Air Jordan" without Micheal having a sayso.


Brian

[chevy551958]

THAT's CRAZY!!! How can ford do that!!?? They just lost ALL of my respect!!!