[Spktyr]

Please, no discussion of the AFA boycott or Ford's support for homosexuals. We already have a billion threads for that; this is actually far more serious. Ford apparently does not believe that once you have bought and paid for your car you have complete control over it. They believe that they can tell you what you can do with pictures of *your* car, or more properly, *their* car.

How's that for a "Bold Move"?

[Spktyr]

I think this belongs in news, but I may be wrong. Please move and/or edit accordingly.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Threatening to sue one’s most zealous customers over images of their cars is a pretty stupid way of doing business...

[Wonder Warthog]

A lot of corporations are going into the "we own the rights to all the images" schtick. Lots of modelmakers have been shafted when big corps have gone after them for daring to make a scale model of the big corporation's product.

Stupid, stupid, stupid people.

The legal departments (or at LEAST the marketing departments) ought to realize that this kind of thing is the BEST KIND of FREE publicity they can possibly get.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I used to be a Ford man, having owned a 1986 Mustang GT, a 1991 Lincoln Mark VII and several others. No more!

[Always Right]

Smart move, crack down on a bunch of Ford enthusiasts. Remind me not to hire the Ford PR guy.

[benjamin032]

Chrysler did the same thing with the Wrangler, intentionally designing it to be more difficult to modify or customize. Do they even understand why people buy the cars?

[capt. norm]

What if your Ford gets photographed by a red light camera....will Ford Motors sue the cops?

[ErnBatavia]

Batavia thinks you’re maybe just a bit paranoid this evening....warm milk helps.

[driftdiver]

I used to like Ford. The last car I bought was not a Ford because of the item we aren’t supposed to mention. This just seals the deal for me.

[Shooter 2.5]

Real simple solution. Just contact all the car journals and magazines and get them on your side. Have the editors send notification they will no longer accept articles dealing with Ford due to threats of litigation.

[arthurus]

Microsoft thinks it owns your computer if you have a microsoft product on your hard drive. They have been pretty direct about that with XP and especially Vista. They reserve the right to do anything that strikes their fancy to the contents of your hard drive.

[kbennkc]

Harley-Davidson , Coke , and Fender guitar are pretty protective of their brand . I have not researched it , but if they , the manufacturers , have a protectable interest the courts should enforce it .

[edcoil]

FORD = Fix Or Repair Daily
FORD = Found On Road Dead
FORD - First On Race Day (nah)

[okie01]

The only conclusion that one can draw from this action is that Ford believes that *they* own your cars, not you, and that you have merely paid Ford for the privilege of driving it.

No. You own the car. They, however, own the trademark. And others can't use it for commercial benefit.

As a rule, companies don't like doing crap like this and taking the resultant PR hickey. But, if they don't take steps to defend their trademark, they are at risk of losing the exclusive rights to it.

[BufordP]

I’m in the market for a pickup. I was sure I was going to buy a Ford. Started doing a little research on the web. After I saw all the complaints about their Triton engine spitting out spark plugs and how badly they were treating their customers I decided to look elsewhere. Probably a Toyota Tacoma or Tundra.

http://consumeraffairs.com/automotive/ford.htm

Good Bye, Ford!

[gunservative]

Ford Motor Company recently decided to go after two car clubs, the "Black Mustang Club" and the "Rice Haters' Club" for various trademark and copyright infringements. In both cases, the clubs had put out an annual calendar, featuring photos of members' cars, some of which were Fords. Ford proceeded to get the calendars' publication stopped on the grounds that they owned the images. Yes, even though the cars are privately owned and non-Ford photographers took the pictures, Ford claims that it owns all rights to any vehicle they have ever produced.

Ford better start suing everybody selling their Fords on Ebay!

[Blood of Tyrants]

Won’t hold up in court because pictures of Fords have been used for decades to sell magazines and calendars.

[halfright]

Owned fords till 1993 when I bought this honda

[longtermmemmory]

corporate stupidity is on the march.

How can one show off their custom work?

This is idiotic. Someone who lost their job at the RIAA must be working for ford. Either that or the woman who destroyed oldmobile must now be working for ford marketing.

[mysterio]

Sorry to hear Ford is doing that. I have a couple fords and they are great cars.