Decals Are Being Made?
F150online
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From: Roswell, GA USA
If they DO indeed own the rights to the term "SVT", if you use it in goodwill and do not make money, they can not sue you. I'm not a lawyer, but this is my understanding of the law.
FWIW, the primary reasons to sue for trademark infringement include brand dillution and marketplace confusion.
In this instance, Ford DOES actually have a registered trademark for SVT. (Registration Number 2001830, filed July 1994) Be forewarned, Ford will defend the use of their trademarks in most cases in order to control how the mark is being reproduced. Whether or not it is registered as a trademark is not really relevant in this case, however since it is registered it would be MUCH easier to defend.
Posting a message like this on a site as heavily trafficed as this one is by all groups within Ford Motor Company and announcing they are being given away for free may send up a red flag. Rest assured, if the tilt of one letter is slightly off, or the scale is not correct, you may get a letter from Ford, as that could, in their estimation "dillute" their brand.
Just an FYI.
Last edited by webmaster; May 21, 2003 at 07:50 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4,922
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From: Lexington, KY
To follow on to what Steve said, it is indeed trade protection
and brand dilution that scare the big boys ... At my company,
you can't even reproduce the logo in ANY form other than
the "approved" one. Ford is the same way, and no matter
what kind of merchandise you are peddling, they will get their
license agreement to protect the "marks" and the colors and
all that.
As another example, the fella that made the "FAST" blue
ovals is potentially in violation.
I'm not trying to pop your balloon, just trying to say you
have to follow the rules if you want to stay safe. Contact
FORD and inquire on Licensing rights. You will find, as we did,
that you would have to sell about 40,000 items to make any
money........
and brand dilution that scare the big boys ... At my company,
you can't even reproduce the logo in ANY form other than
the "approved" one. Ford is the same way, and no matter
what kind of merchandise you are peddling, they will get their
license agreement to protect the "marks" and the colors and
all that.
As another example, the fella that made the "FAST" blue
ovals is potentially in violation.
I'm not trying to pop your balloon, just trying to say you
have to follow the rules if you want to stay safe. Contact
FORD and inquire on Licensing rights. You will find, as we did,
that you would have to sell about 40,000 items to make any
money........
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 269
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From: Texas
Thanks for clarifying Steve, but as you know, "interpretation" is what law is all about... so a hundred judges can interpret the law a hundred different ways. (it is possible that this exact issue has been taken to the supreme court, but i don't feel like doing that kind of research)
As I said, the first thing ford would do is send a letter and ask him to stop. If he did not, they could sue. However....
A dilution claim can only be brought if the mark is "famous". I doubt even 1 in 100 people would know what SVT stands for. So the likelihood of their winning in court is probably pretty slim, IMO. But if they were that intent on stopping him, I guess they could sue
But lets not forget that lawyers are not free for Ford, and they have bigger fish to fry in the legal dept. right now. I just cant see them suing over a couple of free decals when they are facing huge financial troubles.
This is true... however, If they have no grounds for legal action, they can be countersued for bringing a (blatantly) frivolous lawsuit.
As I said, the first thing ford would do is send a letter and ask him to stop. If he did not, they could sue. However....
A dilution claim can only be brought if the mark is "famous". I doubt even 1 in 100 people would know what SVT stands for. So the likelihood of their winning in court is probably pretty slim, IMO. But if they were that intent on stopping him, I guess they could sue
But lets not forget that lawyers are not free for Ford, and they have bigger fish to fry in the legal dept. right now. I just cant see them suing over a couple of free decals when they are facing huge financial troubles.
A company or individual can sue for almost anything, regardless of whether there a legal grounds for it or not.
Last edited by black2k1; May 21, 2003 at 09:12 PM.
Suspended
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From: Texas
Originally posted by black2k1
A dilution claim can only be brought if the mark is "famous". I doubt even 1 in 100 people would know what SVT stands for. So the likelihood of their winning in court is probably pretty slim, IMO. But if they were that intent on stopping him, I guess they could sue But lets not forget that lawyers are not free for Ford, and they have bigger fish to fry in the legal dept. right now. I just cant see them suing over a couple of free decals when they are facing huge financial troubles.
A dilution claim can only be brought if the mark is "famous". I doubt even 1 in 100 people would know what SVT stands for. So the likelihood of their winning in court is probably pretty slim, IMO. But if they were that intent on stopping him, I guess they could sue But lets not forget that lawyers are not free for Ford, and they have bigger fish to fry in the legal dept. right now. I just cant see them suing over a couple of free decals when they are facing huge financial troubles.
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From: here
This brings up pleasant memories of when my friend and I constructed a chat client for Yahoo! Chat. We called it YChat and it was distributed very widely and for FREE. It took less memory to run and you didn't have to have a browser open in order to chat. There were also less problems with it than Yahoo! had with their old Java-oriented software.
A couple of months into it, we both receive a letter from a law firm in Washington D.C. They told us to rename our program or face a lawsuit of trademark infringement. Even the "Y!" is owned by Yahoo!.
We, being stubborn 16 and 17 year olds, simply replied saying "YChat stands for 'Your Chat.' Don't waste our time with mail or email. If you want to go to court, send us some plane tickets and we'll settle this."
Suffice to say, as soon as they realized they were dealing with a bunch of adolescents, they quit sending us mail and email.
I still have these emails to this day and even had applied for an internship at that particular firm about a year after all this
Oh yea, and remember the Nissan fiasco? www.Nissan.com (Nissan Motors vs. some dude with the last name 'Nissan')
A couple of months into it, we both receive a letter from a law firm in Washington D.C. They told us to rename our program or face a lawsuit of trademark infringement. Even the "Y!" is owned by Yahoo!.
We, being stubborn 16 and 17 year olds, simply replied saying "YChat stands for 'Your Chat.' Don't waste our time with mail or email. If you want to go to court, send us some plane tickets and we'll settle this."
Suffice to say, as soon as they realized they were dealing with a bunch of adolescents, they quit sending us mail and email.
I still have these emails to this day and even had applied for an internship at that particular firm about a year after all this
Oh yea, and remember the Nissan fiasco? www.Nissan.com (Nissan Motors vs. some dude with the last name 'Nissan')
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From: Plainfield, Illinois
how is the production coming? I also am interested in the back breaklight. shanezam203@hotmail.com if ya need anymore info. thanks, Shane
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From: Texas
I am interested in the rear window decal. Please drop me a line when you get more info, lightningkid@mac.com
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From: here
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From: TX
