For those unaware, there has been a bit of a tiff going on between Carroll Shelby and the Shelby American Automobile Club. It got to a point where Shelby decided enough was enough, and decided on not renewing the license agreement with the SAAC. This has since caused accusations being fired back and forth between Shelby and the SAAC, ending up with a lot of misinformation being bantered about. The long and short of it is that "Ol' Shel" finally got fed up and has fired off a press release stating his side of the story. Now Peter De Lorenzo of AutoExtremist.com has a slightly different slant (of course!) on what's going on. You can read his latest rantitorial here on this topic.
Shelby's press release can be read after the jump.
Carroll Shelby Licensing Responds To Comments By Ken Eber and Rick Kopec
Gardena, Calif. – December 7, 2007 – Carroll Shelby, CEO of Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc., (CSL) has issued a statement in response to allegations made by the owners of the organization formerly known as the Shelby American Automobile Club.
“I wanted to explain my concerns to the members of the Shelby American Automobile Club directly, but couldn’t because SAAC has refused to give me a list of its members, even though the licensee agreement with SAAC requires them to allow me access to their books and records. So I am being forced to share the facts through a news release.
Rick Kopec and Ken Eber, two of the individuals who run the for-profit business called SAAC, have said that they don’t know why we didn’t renew their annual license. That’s not true. We’ve sent e-mails, made phone calls and mailed letters explaining our concerns for quite some time. Except for the message noted at http://www.shelbylicensing.com./press.htm , they went unanswered. For the past several years, I’ve repeatedly told them that I was unhappy with their disregard of the reporting requirements of their license agreement and the way they managed the club. And, for the past eight years, their business hasn’t kept the terms of its extremely favorable agreement with my licensing company, Carroll Shelby Licensing.
Here are the primary reasons that we did not renew the license for this business:
• For many years, I loaned truckloads of memorabilia to the club and provided 1960s production records for the registry; Kopec and Eber promised that everything would be returned to me whenever I asked. In fact, that’s what Kopec admits to on page 11 of the last printed edition of the “Shelby American World Registry,” which was published in 1997. But they have refused to do so, and I’m told they have sold many of the items, like cancelled Shelby American checks, over the Internet and the like. This is not what anyone had in mind when I let them borrow my things, or my licensing company granted them a license.
• Under the terms of their licensing agreement with CSL, they were required to provide annual and quarterly sales reports, as well as certified statements of sales and a full audit. Also, if requested, they were to allow us ‘free and full access’ to their books, records and accounts. They have not done any of these things, even though I’ve personally asked them many times.
• They’ve never provided proof of the basic liability insurance required by the license agreement. This could expose me personally and all of my companies to enormous liability.
• They failed for nine years to even ask for, much less receive advance approvals from CSL of the thousands of products and product designs they’ve been selling under license, even though the license agreement clearly states that this failure is • They didn’t even pay the $1 per year licensing fee for the past nine years.
• CSL not only has the right not to renew SAAC’s license (which was made for only one year at a time for a reason), but in light of their continued disregard for the license agreement requirements, my trademarks and other intellectual property rights are at great risk if I allow this to continue.
Kopec and Eber say SAAC has 5,000 members who pay almost a quarter-million dollars in dues each year. Then there are advertising revenues, sponsorships and money made at the SAAC national convention. In return, from what I can tell, members receive just one mediocre publication and a couple of classified advertising newsletters.
And where is the Registry that has been promised year after year? The last one was published 10 years ago. I have received many calls from peopl
Gardena, Calif. – December 7, 2007 – Carroll Shelby, CEO of Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc., (CSL) has issued a statement in response to allegations made by the owners of the organization formerly known as the Shelby American Automobile Club.
“I wanted to explain my concerns to the members of the Shelby American Automobile Club directly, but couldn’t because SAAC has refused to give me a list of its members, even though the licensee agreement with SAAC requires them to allow me access to their books and records. So I am being forced to share the facts through a news release.
Rick Kopec and Ken Eber, two of the individuals who run the for-profit business called SAAC, have said that they don’t know why we didn’t renew their annual license. That’s not true. We’ve sent e-mails, made phone calls and mailed letters explaining our concerns for quite some time. Except for the message noted at http://www.shelbylicensing.com./press.htm , they went unanswered. For the past several years, I’ve repeatedly told them that I was unhappy with their disregard of the reporting requirements of their license agreement and the way they managed the club. And, for the past eight years, their business hasn’t kept the terms of its extremely favorable agreement with my licensing company, Carroll Shelby Licensing.
Here are the primary reasons that we did not renew the license for this business:
• For many years, I loaned truckloads of memorabilia to the club and provided 1960s production records for the registry; Kopec and Eber promised that everything would be returned to me whenever I asked. In fact, that’s what Kopec admits to on page 11 of the last printed edition of the “Shelby American World Registry,” which was published in 1997. But they have refused to do so, and I’m told they have sold many of the items, like cancelled Shelby American checks, over the Internet and the like. This is not what anyone had in mind when I let them borrow my things, or my licensing company granted them a license.
• Under the terms of their licensing agreement with CSL, they were required to provide annual and quarterly sales reports, as well as certified statements of sales and a full audit. Also, if requested, they were to allow us ‘free and full access’ to their books, records and accounts. They have not done any of these things, even though I’ve personally asked them many times.
• They’ve never provided proof of the basic liability insurance required by the license agreement. This could expose me personally and all of my companies to enormous liability.
• They failed for nine years to even ask for, much less receive advance approvals from CSL of the thousands of products and product designs they’ve been selling under license, even though the license agreement clearly states that this failure is • They didn’t even pay the $1 per year licensing fee for the past nine years.
• CSL not only has the right not to renew SAAC’s license (which was made for only one year at a time for a reason), but in light of their continued disregard for the license agreement requirements, my trademarks and other intellectual property rights are at great risk if I allow this to continue.
Kopec and Eber say SAAC has 5,000 members who pay almost a quarter-million dollars in dues each year. Then there are advertising revenues, sponsorships and money made at the SAAC national convention. In return, from what I can tell, members receive just one mediocre publication and a couple of classified advertising newsletters.
And where is the Registry that has been promised year after year? The last one was published 10 years ago. I have received many calls from peopl
ateixeira says:
02:50 PM, 12/12/07
It's sad when a legend spends the 2nd half of his life in court.
C'mon Shel, start a new project if an old one fails. Water under the bridge!