File this under the column of certain executives at FoMoCo need to hit the unemployment office, and soon...

Ford has issued a cease and desist notice to Cafepress in regards to printing up a calendar featuring Black Mustang Club's members rides. Ford claims to own all images of any Ford product. What this means, is that when YOU take a photograph of YOUR Ford, YOU do not own that image. Ford says they can tell you what you can, and can not do with that image.

http://www.adrants.com/2008/01/ford-...ts-returns.php

I understand a company trying to protect it's image, and trademarks, but this is BEYOND stupid. Going after your loyal customer base is what got the Dixie Chicks unemployed remember?

 

Good... I'm glad.

Proves my point in how Ford can "control" you even more... not just in choosing what type of transmission you have. Now in pictures.

Man... I'm good.

 

the who?

i didnt read the article, but wouldnt it only be illegal if you were trying to make a profit on it, or use it for some kind of gain?

 

I love Ford's emails...

Dear Charles,

Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding the availability of the standard shift transmission on the 2009 Ford F-150.

From time to time, vehicle models are added, deleted or modified. Decisions to make these changes take into account factors such as market trends, customer demands, engineering advances, and dealership input.

The Customer Relationship Center is unaware in advance of changes that our Engineering and Design Team may be making and the specific reasons that the changes may be made in the future. This type of information is considered confidential until the appropriate media statement is released. If you are interested in some futuristic vehicle design ideas that we are working on, visit us at:

1. www.ford.com
2. select 'Innovation'

We think you will like what you see.

Currently, there are various special incentives and offers available on Ford Motor Company products. I encourage you to visit us at www.fordvehicles.com. Simply, choose the vehicle you may be interested in, enter your zip code, and all current offers will be displayed to you.

If you have any other inquiries, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to address them for you.

Sincerely,
Julie
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company

For online support visit us at: www.customersaskford.com which contains answers to frequently asked questions and links to other key product and service information.

So automated... I wonder if "Julie" is plastic?!

 

Yup.

If you don't ask permission, then your fuked.

 

so you really cant blame 'em, the nfl nba major leagues and all those guys do te same thing.

 

You want fun? Offer up to your local school to paint Disney characters on the Kindergarden classroom walls.

 

is this coming from personal experience?

 

Yeah, I CAN blame them. I am not talking about Taking pics that Ford made, of Fords products, at Fords auto show booth, and putting them on T-shirts and selling them. I am talking about taking a photo of the Mustang (or in our case trucks) that WE bought from Ford, put OUR hard earned blood, sweat, tears, and money into modding, and Ford saying, since the base of the modded vehicle is Ford, you cannot control your own images. This is NOT like NBA, National League Baseball, NFL or any of that stupidity done under license. We do not buy a license from Ford when we buy a vehicle. We buy a physical product. And Ford is trying to tell us that we have no right to capture, and share an image of OUR property. So I guess we should all strip our galleries on all the forums of images of Ford products right? I mean the forums like this one make revenue from the advertising they get partially based on people dropping in to visit the galleries...

 

Nothing new. Ford has been asking Cafepress to pull stores for years that "may" violate Ford's trademarks. Happened to us back in July 2002. https://www.f150online.com/merchandise.cfm

Ford, like many corporations, has a team of young, eager lawyers whose job it is to scour the Internet looking for potential trademark violations, regardless of how gray, and send cease-and-desist letters. CafePress still does little to defend their clients, beyond caving to these letters, so I think they deserve some of the blame here, not just Ford. CafePress had the ability to say no, but they opted to cave rather than fight it.

 

But the difference is with our galleries, I'm not charging anyone to view my Fords.

Same with this website, I'm sure that permission was granted here to use images and so forth. ( to be legit )

It may be your vehicle, but it wasn't your design.

 

i can see what you are saying, and i agree it is very stupid of them.

however, were the people were trying to sell the calendar, and other merchandise. and it is only a quote:

BMC Owner Lisa commented to group members, "I'm sorry, but at this point we will not be producing the 2008 BMC Calendar, featuring our 2007 Members of the Month, solely due to Ford Motor Company's claim that they own all rights to the photos you take of your car. I hope to resolve this soon, and be able to provide the calendar and other BMC merchandise that you guys want and deserve!"

so i dont think they are doing anything that other companies with trademarks, logos, and patents have also done.

i love ford and i love the mustang, and i truthfully dont think the club should be punished for doing this, but this is the world we live in, and apparently ford has every right in the world to do it.

 

http://www.bmcforums.com/cmps_index.php

Check out their website with all of the censored logos.

 

to tell you the truth, im surprised al sharpton didnt have his hand in this one... i figured he would have said it is racist to call it the "black" mustang club. before you know they will be know as "club"

 

Well then I guess 8-Lug Diesel Magazine and those other diesel mags should watch out...