Ford goes after online sites for trademark infringement

I hope Ford fires whoever made the decision to milk more money out of the few fans they have left.

These sites are an incredible source of free advertising and it's impossible to underestimate the value of a loyal fan.

Wow. Whoever made that decision should lose their job. End of story.

firstwagon

weird. we both had the same reaction.

A-ha! If Congress won't give us the money, we'll just milk it out of the general public. Brillant!

The online communities that I'm a part of are a big part of my brand loyalty. This is horrible for Ford. I wonder what their angle is?

Seriously... I'm a part of 2 Focus communities (being an SVT owner), and if they take action against them, I'm going to be seriously considering another brand...

If you read the article and the updates, it's not so cut and dry that Ford is being rediculous: http://www.mustangevolution.com/200812101465/

Yeah, after reading the updates, I can see the problem of Ford losing control of its trademark on these products. If something sounds too ridiculous to be true, sometimes it is!

Reading through the article I can understand what would make them take such a choice. Like other say, it isn't so black and white after all.

Here's Ford's official statement on the matter:

Thanks for bringing this issue to our attention. Without question, Ford enthusiasts are extremely important to us. Their enthusiasm and loyalty are part of our heritage and part of what's going to keep us moving forward.

Recently, there was an item posted stating that Ford was requesting TheRangerStation.com to turn over its URL to Ford and pay $5,000. We'd like the opportunity to share some additional facts that might make a difference in how you think about this situation.

In its communications, TheRangerStation.com stated that Ford was making them change the name of their site and pay $5,000. What was not mentioned was that TheRangerStation.com was selling counterfeit Ford-brand merchandise on the site. As a company, Ford has a responsibility to protect our brand and a responsibility to our licensees. We cannot let something like that pass. (The counterfeit goods have been removed from the website since TheRangerStation.com got the letter from Ford's attorney.)

Please know that Ford takes no joy in pursuing enthusiast sites. Since there are a number of sites out there with Ford vehicles as part of their names or URLs, some people have asked if they should be concerned. Ford has been and continues to be willing to license its trademarks for use by enthusiast groups and enthusiast websites. Requesting a license is done easily by contacting tmgroup@ford.com. To request a license to produce or sell branded merchandise bearing Ford's trademarks, contact branduse@ford.com.

In short, we are not asking for $5,000 and we would like them to keep the domain name. We simply encourage TheRangerStation.com to contact Ford to request a license to continue using the domain name.

We hope you will share this information with anyone who is concerned. We deeply appreciate our fans’ dedication and enthusiasm and want to be able to work together with all of our supporters to tell the Ford story.

Scott Monty
Global Digital Communications
Ford Motor Company