Ford says they own the pictures you take of your car!!

[diehard]

No one should be surprised by Ford's stance in this matter. For those of you who do not know, Henry Ford use to disseminate anti-Semitic literature via every Ford he use to sell, as he was an American supporter of the National Socialist Party, and donated a lot of money to Hilter's regime. Therefore, it's obvious they still like to go about business in dictatorial manner. However, no one should be scared of Ford, as they have not recently been very successful in their "trademark" lawsuits. They tried to stop company's from producing plenum covers with the mustang, and/or gt logo's and did not win. So I would still produce, and sell the calendars, as they give up their trademark rights the moment they sell the car to you. If their stance held any legal merit, we would not be able to customize our current Ford vehicles without the consent of Ford. So as long as the calendars feature only personal vehicles, you are legally free to produce, and sell them in this Country, which is of a free market.

[wickedcobra]

It doesn't matter what the circumstances are I still think its BS...

[AZSonicSnake]

hmm....guess if they own my pics they should be paying for the camera then....

[wickedcobra]

hmm....guess if they own my pics they should be paying for the camera then....

That and they are getting FREE advertising too......

[AZSonicSnake]

no kidding. this kinda thing really does not shock me, but i cannot for the life of me understand how they think they own something that is our own property, that we rightfully bought...

[Ruckus46gt]

if its infringment they should not put ford symbols on my car. If they want to put the symbol on my car they should pay me if this is the case. Also anytime a website etc uses the name ford they are also putting them self at risk according to what there lawyers say. If my contract doesnt say anything about me having to ask for permission to take photos and sell calanders etc then well i have the right to end of story. i am selling pictures of my car for a profit not there symbol.
i think everyone should contact ford next week and ask them permission to take pictures of there car they own and post the pictures on the net.

[RockysMom]

This is just like when you buy a new car and the dealer puts thier stickers all over it, if the dealership wants to pay you for advertising "fine" if not then they have to remove them for you before you leave the lot. Trust me I know about this one, this happened to a relative of mine. If they want to get dicky about it then they can start paying me for advertising there vehicle and there name!!!!

[ASUSMC]

as they give up their trademark rights the moment they sell the car to you. If their stance held any legal merit, we would not be able to customize our current Ford vehicles without the consent of Ford. So as long as the calendars feature only personal vehicles, you are legally free to produce, and sell them in this Country, which is of a free market.

This is where the gray area comes in. By the law anything that is produced with a Ford SYMBOL prominently and obviously displayed without Ford's consent is copyright infringement. Same idea with the NFL and every major sport that you cannot reproduce or rebroadcast without the express written consent. It is their product and as such they have a right to protect their name.

This last part about customizing our own vehicles. We actually do not have the right to customize our own vehicles. How many peoples warrantys have been voided because of any modifications at all to the car?

[wickedcobra]

if its infringment they should not put ford symbols on my car. If they want to put the symbol on my car they should pay me if this is the case.

No doubt.....

[BurnTire]

Damn time to change the name to high performance steeds and put a horse on the homepage. LOL