There is nothing new or surprising about this as the law firms representing Ford and all other companies out there file these suits all the time. Here are a couple examples of how silly some of the suits are.



Publication: Automotive News
Date: Monday, August 14 2000





DETROIT - The U.S. District Court in Detroit last week dismissed a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by Ford Motor Co. against Internet startup Model E Corp. of Fremont, Calif.
The court ruled Ford failed to allege a proper basis for bringing the suit against Model E in Michigan. The suit argued Model E's name too closely resembled Ford's past vehicle names.
Model E offers vehicles over the Internet to subscribers who pay a monthly fee.


Ford: Car owners are pirates if they distribute pictures of their own cars

Posted by Cory Doctorow, January 13, 2008 10:11 PM | permalink


Josh sez, "The folks at BMC (Black Mustang Club) automotive forum wanted to put together a calendar featuring members' cars, and print it through CafePress. Photos were submitted, the layout was set, and... CafePress notifies the site admin that pictures of Ford cars cannot be printed. Not just Ford logos, not just Mustang logos, the car -as a whole- is a Ford trademark and its image can't be reproduced without permission. So even though Ford has a lineup of enthusiasts who want to show off their Ford cars, the company is bent on alienating them. 'Them' being some of the most loyal owners and future buyers that they have. Or rather, that they had, because many have decided that they will not be doing business with Ford again if this matter isn't resolved."

I got some more info from the folks at cafepress and according to them, a law firm representing Ford contacted them saying that our calendar pics (and our club's event logos - anything with one of our cars in it) infringes on Ford's trademarks which include the use of images of THEIR vehicles. Also, Ford claims that all the images, logos and designs OUR graphics team made for the BMC events using Danni are theirs as well. Funny, I thought Danni's title had my name on it ... and I thought you guys owned your cars ... and, well ... I'm not even going to get into how wrong and unfair I feel this whole thing is as I'd be typing for hours, but I wholeheartedly echo everything you guys have been saying all afternoon. I'm not letting this go un-addressed and I'll keep you guys posted as I get to work on this. 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!