Again, this is a total B.S. statement, through and through. Simply slapping on a logo on anything and that will NEVER take the trademark away from someone else. However, the owner will typically get pissed that someone is using the symbol without paying. That is the problem. Payment for the use is the issue at hand, also called royalties.

As long as it is registered (it is and will contiue to be), and they have that little R symbol, it will never be lost. Loosing the trademark also means losing control of the trademark. Please someone, read up on the laws concerning trademarks, registrations, and patents. It is in black and white.

Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Frito Lay... Uh oh, these companies are losing their trademarks...

 

I was curious and thus researched the subject on the internet. Looks like there are a couple of ways you can lose your trademark: 1. If it becomes part of the English language and 2. You MAY lose your trademark rights if you don't police its use and defend it. Below is one of the websites I looked at and below that is a couple of paragraphs, cut and paste.

http://www.dwt.com/practc/int_prop/05-04_TMBasics.htm

"You’re On Your Own – There Are No Trademark Police
Trademark rights confer a right of exclusivity of use of a trademark for particular goods and/or services. However, it’s a right, not a mandate; there are no trademark police whose mission it is to protect and serve trademark owners. As a trademark owner it is your responsibility to police and protect your trademark from infringers and careless use of the mark.
Trademark policing usually includes at least two fronts: (1) stopping infringers (and counterfeiters), and (2) maintaining proper and consistent use of the trademark. The latter front requires education of authorized users and the media as to the correct use of your mark. This can be accomplished by providing trademark usage guidelines (e.g., “the mark should appear in text as ‘eBay,’ not ‘EBay’ or ‘ebay’”) and correcting the media when mistakes are made. The former front requires vigilance in the marketplace and a willingness to take quick action against wrong-doers when necessary. If you fail to police your trademark the strength of your trademark rights will erode and may be lost altogether (e.g. cellophane and escalator were once proprietary trademarks, and KLEENEX and XEROX are examples of trademarks that have flirted with losing their trademark significance, also known as “genericide”)."

 

That looks awesome. I just had the regular black done in my Aspen Green F-150...looks good but I wonder what a color-matched job would have cost?

 

Thanks for the link, TG. You and Flagship are right on. Trademark rights are a funny business.

The VW enthusiast community was hit by this in the past few years. Volkswagen of America finally realized how much unlicensed stuff was out there with the VW logo and knew that they'd have NO ability to keep it out of truly distasteful uses unless they clamped down on it. Oh, and the little issue that they weren't getting any royalties from the unlicensed use of their logo and name! They hired a new law firm that came in like a ton of bricks and policed up the market. One good thing is that VWOA established a process that let enthusiast clubs or websites license their name and logo for free as long as no one was making $$ off it.

The Grateful Dead had to do the same thing in the late '80s or early '90s. They had always been willing to turn a blind eye to the huge amounts of homemade GD merchandise out there, but when the big t-shirt and souvenier manufacturers got into the biz, they clamped down as well.

 

no line-x for me, just rocking the oem ford bedliner, with the ford logo, hahaha but...it is now covered up by my tonneau cover haha,

whats so good about line-x? and not the one i have, the plastic moulded type, deal....dont make fun if its bad, my father picked out the truck before i knew anything about it, or even bought it from him

 

My LineX was dry within a minute or two of it being sprayed. The interior panel on the tailgate was replaced and the tailgate closed within 15 minutes. He even walked in the bed to untape it, but did put down cardboard so he didn't get it dirty with his shoes. It was ready for use. Didn't have to wait a day...
This was with no extra coatings or UV protection. maybe that makes it stay tacky longer.
He even sprayed a piece of flat sheet aluminum for me to make a liner for my center console. He seperated it almost immediately after spraying and I was cutting it with a razor right after that. I hate stuff sliding around in there...

 

Nicely done TG...it is amazing how quick people are to call someone wrong or full of it in an ignorant or nasty way only to be wrong themselves.

They only look foolish when they dont fully understand copyright, patent, and trademark laws and call someone else down in a nasty way.

 

People never cease to amaxe me with the way they will jump on something with such authority, when in fact they know so little. Always leave yourself an out when dispensing your knowledge. That way you don't look like an azz and may actually learne something from the discourse.

 

see you said it better....

 

SuperCab V8,

That looks very good. I had a Line-X in my last truck.

Too bad this thread turned into an argument over the trademark crap!