Ford Cracking Down on Mustang, Bronco, T-bird names

[Grover]

I have heard that Ford is starting to reclaim the trademark names of their cars and is attaching companies, websites, etc that use these names. They state that people think that the company is affiliated with Ford if the name Bronco such as Tom's Bronco Parts is used. I know that they have started with the Mustang group and I have heard they are setting fines at 100K plus they must submit all business cards, signs, etc to be destroyed and another $5K to do this. Will this affect our website here? I know ten years ago Ford was doing something similar but they were OK if you put Classic, Vintage or what not in front of the name but they have changed their minds. What are your thoughts as this could potentially affect our hobby?

 

[FSRBIKER]

Just a thought but I am sure Ford doesn't own the trademark to the names in all countries? Couldn't you use a host in say Canada and bypass this? This still wouldn't help parts suppliers located in the US, just websites.

 

[roundhouse]

Ford cant fine anyone, they have to win in court first.

why would FOrd worry about names of vehicles they no longer produce????

 

[Solar Aviator]

Just a thought but I am sure Ford doesn't own the trademark to the names in all countries? Couldn't you use a host in say Canada and bypass this? This still wouldn't help parts suppliers located in the US, just websites.

Maybe they will go after the Denver Broncos;D I heard that Chrystler went after a guy named "Jeep" in Montana for putting his name on his bar. Fact or fiction? I do know a guy in Michigan that got a letter from Holiday Inn that they would pursue legal action if he didn't change the name of his Holiday Motel. He sent pictures of his sign from the early 50's when he built it. Holiday bought it, bulldozed it, built a Holiday Inn, and Elmer retired.

Broncos, Mustangs, and Thunderbirds have been around a lot longer than Ford. "Bronco Tom's Parts"?

 

[Grover]

I don't know if they have to win in court or not it seems that they have the right. Mustang Monthly had a good article on it all and they said that many of the mustang part suppliers had to change names or shut down and have started to do so. It seems that they do have the names trade marked in the auto industry. In other countries I don't know because in Germany the mustang had to be called the T-5 because they already had a mustang.

 

[FSRBIKER]

I am not sure about things like the Denver Broncos but there might be differnt classes such as auto parts that you trademark a name.

I know this year will be the first that Jeep can use Wrangler in Canada since GM owned the rights to it for an interior package they used to offer on pickups.

 

[Grover]

Here is a post from another website for mustangs.

"The only ones I know for sure are Mustangs Plus, Virginia Classic Mustang, and California Mustang. However, they supposedly sent a cease and desist letter to any vendor that used the word Mustang, Pony, or Stang in their name. In the case of Mustangs Plus, they were ordered to turn over any advertising materials with the name on it to Ford, the rights to their website domain, and pay $10,000 for past damages.

I've been told from a good source that California Mustang told Ford where to put their demands and they had their licensing agreement pulled as a result."

 

[Skuzzlebutt]

Here is a post from another website for mustangs.

"The only ones I know for sure are Mustangs Plus, Virginia Classic Mustang, and California Mustang. However, they supposedly sent a cease and desist letter to any vendor that used the word Mustang, Pony, or Stang in their name. In the case of Mustangs Plus, they were ordered to turn over any advertising materials with the name on it to Ford, the rights to their website domain, and pay $10,000 for past damages.

I've been told from a good source that California Mustang told Ford where to put their demands and they had their licensing agreement pulled as a result."

If they had had a licensing agreement, both California Mustang and Ford must follow it's terms as written. Ford would not be allowed to change its mind about the shops use of the trademark, nor would Ford be allowed to terminate the contract unless the shop was is violation of the terms in writing. If the shop was in violation and refused to rectify things, they deserve to have their licensing agreement revoked.

 

[MontrealBronco]

My aunt is a trademark lawer and I remember having a discussion with her a few years back about something like that. She explained to me that you can't trademark a common usage word by itself. ex: the word bronco. The Denver Bronco's make reference to the horse, not the car.

You have to put it in context to trademark it. If we are talking about the Ford Bronco, now that would be a trademark. If this site was called classicfordbroncos.com, we could have a problem. Take Dunkin'Donuts. That's a trademark. But if I use the word Donut on it's own, it's too common to trademark.

Besides, sites like ClassicBroncos.com promote the Ford name and the history of Ford. How many of you here drive Ford products? This is free exposure for them. If anything, they should give their seal of approuval on this site and sponsor it and give us a bunch of stuff. When people gather around our Broncos and look them over and we explain to them how we love them and all, what do you think happens? They see a Ford logo with someone who loves the Ford product. That's worth a lot of free publicity.

Jeff

 

[BG's 68 Bronco]

Did Ford not sell off their OEM tooling, or whatever you call it, i.e. parts for Bronco's because ford doesn't make them anymore?

I can see the issue with new mustangs, but if they start digging into classics that's pretty pathetic of them! If they wanted a piece of the pie they should have kept producing the parts themselves.

 

[67EB_in_619]

cease and desist letters are just letters from lawyers.. they have no weight behind them except fear. Ford CANNOT demand a business give up it's name, marketing materials, tshirts, whatever.. it certainly cannot collect 10k in past damages. They can ASK for it.. but a court has to agree... a court and judge makes rulings, not Ford's lawyer team.

That said, I dont believe this much. I think at the end of the day all you need would be a disclaimer that you are not affiliated with Ford and that Ford and the Ford Bronco are registered trademarks of FMC.

again, I seriously doubt that Ford would spend it's time on something like this unless the businesses are representing themselves as a ford affiliate.

 

[Grover]

Here is the article from Mustang Monthly:

"Little did Donald know when he wrote this edtiorial that it would be stirring up the Mustang world the way it has. To alleviate any questions people may have about the editorial, we now post it as it appears in the June 2006 issue of Mustang Monthly.
Some of your favorite Mustang parts companies are facing serious legal action, serious enough to possibly put some of them out of business, and it's coming from the most unlikely of sources: Ford Motor Company.

Over the past few months, a number of major Mustang parts companies have received a letter from Howard, Phillips, and Andersen, a Salt Lake City law office that represents Ford on trademark and anticybersquatting enforcement matters. Loaded with legalese, the four-page document boiled down to a couple of important demands: transfer to Ford any Internet domain name containing the word Mustang and, worse, discontinue using Mustang in the company name. In other words, many of the companies that you and I purchase Mustang parts from are being told to change their names or face a Ford-powered lawsuit seeking $100,000 in damages.

The letter also demands that the companies turn over for destruction all signs, banners, business cards, stationary, and so on, that use Mustang in the company name, along with a cashier's check for $5,000 in damages. One company was given less than two weeks to comply, and another has discontinued its advertising, a potentially devastating move for a mail-order company, until the situation is resolved.

Upon further research, it appears the matter will only be resolved when everyone--parts companies, Web sites, even magazines--stops using the Mustang name, primarily because Ford fears the usage might be construed as an affiliation with Ford. A source at Ford, who asked to remain anonymous, explained that Ford has decided to "reclaim its legacy" by protecting its trademarks and logos. "The intent is to eliminate the use of trademark names," including Mustang and Thunderbird, among others. Apparently, Ford went after companies using Ford in their name first; now it's time to clean up Mustang.

Because so many companies use Mustang as part of their names, the enforcement is being rolled out gradually to prevent overwhelming the lawyers. According to our source, companies contacted first were either high-profile, or they were not participating in or complying with Ford licensing agreements. He went on to state that every company with Mustang in its name will eventually be contacted.

We also talked to Scott Ryther, a lawyer at Howard, Phillips, and Andersen, who confirmed that companies without a current Ford trademark licensing agreement are likely to be contacted first. He declined to comment on how the trademark enforcement will proceed, but when asked if a gas station called Mustang Mart would fall into the gunsights, he replied, "If Ford finds out about it, they'll eventually be contacted."

About 10 years ago, Ford started making noise about the use of the Mustang name. As a result, some companies modified their name to include a descriptive word, such as Classic. When asked if those companies would still be targeted, our source at Ford said, "At the time, that was deemed acceptable. Ford has changed its mind."

So now companies are faced with making a name change, and it won't be as easy as replacing Mustang with Pony or Stang. According to Ryther, Ford is protecting those trademarks too. His suggestion is for companies to change their names to something generic like "Classic Car Parts," then add a tagline about specializing in Mustangs. Sounds confusing to me.

While some companies are breathing a sigh of relief because they decided early on not to use Mustang in their name, others are staring at financial, if not total, devastation. Many of these companies have 25-30 years invested in their name, and any marketing guru will tell you that a name change can hurt company recognition for decades. Whether or not a company decides to fight Ford in the courts or simply decides to comply with the demands, it's going to be expensive, and you can bet that the expense will be passed along to you and me in the form of higher prices for parts.

I understand that Ford has every right to protect its trademarks. But it bothers me that there is no distinction between legitimate companies, many of which have doing business with Mustang in their name for decades, and companies that might be looking to deceive or defraud by using the word. In this case, Ford is going after the very people who support Ford and its products. One of the reasons the Mustang hobby remains strong is because parts are readily available for restoration, maintenance, and performance. I have to wonder how successful the '05-'06 Mustang would be without the strong Mustang hobby that feeds off the parts supplied by manufacturers and vendors.

It's a great time to be involved in Mustangs. The new Mustang is a whopping success, prices for vintage Mustangs are strong, and restomodding has strengthened the hobby with most of the companies we talked to reporting increased sales this year. But if Ford follows through on its path for Mustang trademark enforcement, many of the people who manufacture and sell parts may be forced to find another line of work. And if they go away, then our entire hobby may be headed down the tubes.

I can only hope that Ford comes to its senses and sends this whole Mustang trademark thing down the tubes first."

 

[77BroncoWag]

So they are going after the 'Mustang Ranch' also?

 

[jeffncs]

Here's the article I read...

http://www.fordmuscle.com/blog/index.php

Look for the article titled "Help us convince Ford they are wrong..."

There's also a petition through this article.

Jeff

 

[feitctaj]

this is all BS !
I guess North American can go after Ford for their use of the Name Mustang%)

 

[Gummi Bear]

Chalk this up as one more reason that the 'new' Ford leadership upsets me.

Not only have they abandoned some of the best programs they ever had, but they've become petty too.

They pulled this trademark monkey business on a local shop here, No Boundaries 4x4. The shop was in place long before Ford ever started using that advertising slogan, and sued the shop for using it, even though they had been using the name for years before Ford started to.

They're bullies, plain and simple.

I just don't see me buying a new Ford product any time in the future. They quite making my favorite stuff nearly 30 years ago anyhow. ;D

 

[Sbolt19]

The use of "Pony" will be interesting because doesn't Chevrolet, Chrystler & Dodge use those to refer to the Camaro, 'Cuda & Challenger of the late 60's? Don't they all (manufacturers) use the term "Pony Car" for those vintages?

 

[FSRBIKER]

Think about how much money they are wasting, when they aren't in the best shape financially they piss money away on lawyers...maybe if someone was causing the brand harm it would be warranted.

Take this money instead and develop new hybrid technology, produce a Bronco to steal Wrangler sales, etc...anything but piss money away.

 

[GRIZZLY]

Harley did this about 10 years ago. I'm not sure how it affected people's businesses but I do agree it's a crappy thing to do....

 

[howiebilt]

If they are really doing what you all are saying , then it is a sad time for us all .

"HOWIEBILT"
registered trademark of Howiebilt Inc. and better known moniker of Howie , the guy that should be getting payed something everytime a Ford makes any money because after all ... it was a Ford who shot Jesse James a.k.a. Thomas Howard , in his own home , in the back , for money . Maybe Jesse was not such a good guy ... but it is amazing how history repeats itself