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

Cliff Notes:

Mustang forum makes calendar of member's rides.

Ford instructs CafePress to not print anything with any of their vehicles in it, regardless of who owns the copyright to the photo or who owns the vehicle .


I just copyed this from the MR2 forum for simplicity's sake. I still cant believe that though. LOL

 

This sounds like the ramblings of a dumbass Toyota fanboy. Ford does not continue to own your car after you pay it off. Don’t be an idiot. Ford does however own the right to the Mustang name and the shape of the body.

This is not unique to Ford. For example, flip to pages 28, 29, 30, and 31 of your Gran Turismo 4 manual and you'll see 4 pages of copy rights notifications.

Your beloved Toyota goes so far as to list every car in the game by name and states the name, emblems and body designs are intellectual property of the Toyota Motor Company. Meaning that if your MR2 forum decided to put together an MR2 calendar then Toyota could make the same request.



I imagine the heart of the matter is that Ford is not allowing it's vehicles likeness to be used for a money making venture without some sort of compensation because other calendar makers who are producing Mustang calendars have previously paid for the right to use the image of the Mustang. The below image is from a 2008 Ford Mustang calendar. Note it's official licensing statements.

If Ford were to allow this forum to produce Mustang calendars and sell them for a profit without any licensing agreements then why would a major calendar publisher pay for the licensing?

 

woow, guess I better take down all of the pictures of my cobra down then huh...GAY!!!

 

you sir, are stupid. GTFO.

 

This is nothing new, it's just standard copyright practices. Many companies, concerned about how their brand is being portrayed to the public (in this case T-shirts or calendars or whatever) have final override on the approval of what is very clearly marketing media. This is marketing media put out by a private club, but it is still Ford marketing media. Trademarks are trademarks, and they are perfectly able to pursue this legally to whatever extent they feel like. I only read one page of that forum thread (holy shit with the whining), but it said that some other club got clearance to publish after they got approval from Ford. Guess what, that's the same thing that other companies have to do when they become vendors for another company's products, etc.
We have to get official logo files and sometimes get clearance on sponsor decal colors for our racecar. It's all about branding, and you have to adhere to what the companies want.

This is not new, and whoever on that BMC forum is so shocked and butthurt doesn't know how the business world works apparently.

Remember the big publicity over Honda's clamp down on the replacement H and A ricey badges? Branding.

 

I read this when it first happened on Corral, and I've gotta disagree with alot of people that think its unfair. If Ford doesnt agressively defend their trademark rights, they can lose them. Yes, that even means that they can go after Joe Sixpack for producing a mustang calendar.

Not to mention they're using a site like CafePress to get it, which is designed so cafepress makes a profit, not to mention the seller will make a profit (more than likely) from Ford's trademarks.

 

If CafePress goes against the apparently clearly defined copyright guidelines that Ford has laid out, then CafePress gets sued. They're in the business of making money, not getting sued I assume.

Usually the way this works is that Ford is more concerned about the possible brand damage that unlicensed media can cause to their brand than they are about pissing off a few club members.

 

I don't even understand why this is being spread all over the internet. Copyright laws are nothing new or uncommon, but yet the fags on BMC forums blew this way out of proportion. That forum makes me embarrassed to own a black Mustang.

 

It's being spread by stupid people. Before the internet stupid people lived out their pointless lives away from the rest of us. Then came the internet which allowed every moron to express their worthless opinion to the world. Case in point:

 

i'll be sure to close my eyes next time i see a mustang.