Nomi:
I put this up at my place as well.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Hubris has a new name, FoMoCo.
Well, I'm a guy who owns a Ford Ranger. Almost 9 years of relatively trouble free service and I might be inclined to buy another one, if I had any requirement or money for one. Until today.
That's when I got the following e-mail:
____________________________________________________________________________
Dear Member,
I appologize for this email. I don't normally email the members but this is an emergency.
Today, (December 9, 2008) I received a letter from the law offices of Howard, Phillips & Andersen that represent the Ford Motor Company. Ford is forcing us to surrender the name 'therangerstation.com' to them and stop using it. Ford states that using the name 'Ranger' when used in reference to the Ford Ranger is a trademark violation. In addition they are wanting me to pay them $5,000.
As you may know, The Ranger Station has been around for the past 10 years and has been a valuable resource to Ranger enthusiasts.
If Ford does this to us, where will they stop?
I have 10-days to surrender the name and pay them $5,000. I'm asking that you contact Ford online and ask them to reconsider making us change our name and prohibiting us from using the word 'Ranger'.
You can contact them at:
https://secure.ford.com/footer/contact-ford/contact-us-email?contactMainTopic=PublicAffairs
a sample of what one of the members wrote is:
"To whom it may concern:
I am writing concerning your recent legal attacks on various "fan" websites for vehicles such as the Mustang and Ranger. I am insulted by this careless misuse of our legal system and am reconsidering any further vehicle purchases from your company until you cease and desist from any further legal action concerning this subject. I have been a Ford owner for many years and I had hoped to stay that way. These attacks are morally wrong since they are geared towards your customers, and do not instill the least bit of confidence in your brand. For the sake of your business, I ask you to please reconsider immediately.
Thank you."
Thank you for your support and I applogize for this email.
Jim Oaks
TheRangerStation.com
____________________________________________________________________________
Jesus on a pogo stick aerating a golf course--is FoMoCo completely fucking clueless or what?
a couplea couplets for the suits at FoMoCo.
Brains of sawdust, ears of tin;
Stupid is your major sin.
hearts of stone and balls of brass.
Mullaly, you can kiss my ass.
Check this out, over at Jim Voorhies blog.
http://jimvoorhies.com/index.php
What a buncha fukin' idiots.
Feel free to send any or all of this to your new, improved congressional delegations.
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3 comments:
Our official response is as follows:
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.
And Jim Oaks' own response is here:
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32874
Scott Monty
Global Digital Communications
Ford Motor Company
Nomi:
I wonder how this Mr. Monty got wind of this post. He never came to my house and I don't see any other comments here, except his. It's just curious.
democommie
Good action oriented blog post. However, the link isn't working. 12/13
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