I know you already hate Fords...but please read this nonsense!

Hmmmm so I wonder if there is a loop hole where if you sell the calendars at 0 profit or better yet all of the proceeds go to a charity. :hmm:

 

You would think it would be that simple...but many of the pics...dont have a Ford oval or Mustang on them...like Lisa's car does not say Ford or Mustang anywhere on the car, yet she cant get a pic or shirt printed of it if she wished. The funniest part is not only are there no logos on the car, but the Hood, Front Facia, Rear Facia, Headlights, Tailights, Seats, Stereo, Wheels, Brakes, Entire Suspension, Entire Exhaust, Transmission, and the entire engine including everything from the intake, S/C, every internal, Radiator, Oil Pan and everything in between are all aftermarket NON FORD parts none of which were installed or built by Ford ...LMAO
But I guess that still enfringes on their rights!

 

Probably a bit more grey than that. BMC is a for profit business (we love you guys). BMC (or it's owners) owns/operates/founded those clubs/forums. Maybe BMC gets a lot of business from those clubs/forums. Selling the calendars themselves for profit or not is pretty clear cut, but it might not make a difference if they were given away.

Note: I sound like I'm coming down on one side here but I'm really not. I'm all for Kris and Lisa. I'm analytic by nature and just trying to get a purely objective view here without the emotion. ...and besides, it's just mustangs. (dammit, did I say that out loud AGAIN :rofl2

 

Well... c'mon now. You're telling me that if I saw a pic of Lisa's car I wouldn't immediately identify it as a mustang? And yes, she could certainly get a pic or shirt printed. She just couldn't sell the pic or shirt. It gets hazy when she puts the BMC logo and her car on the same shirt.

by the way, given Ron's extensive experience I'm guessing he has a LOT of insight into this.

 

As it stands right now she cannot get her car pic nor can any of the member get a pic or shirt or personal Calandar printed of their own car!

 

Actually for reasons like this BMC the Club and BMC Performance are completely seperate entities...obviously BMC Performance is a for profit company selling parts, engines etc...but Black Mustang Club is a club...incorporated for legal purposes, but all profits go back only into the costs of running and maintaining the website and putting on club events, and after all is said and done even that does not cover the costs. I totally can understand coming after a For Profit Business using Ford or a Mustang logo in their name or logo, but for a club thats sole purpose is to provide a place for enthusiasts..sorry that doesnt fly.

Same would apply to this site...it would could easily happen here..SRT is licensed and TM and any merchandise sold w SRT Connection could be looked at the same way. Rons car on a shirt...same thing

 

I like F***

 

dave - then block out the blue oval in the pics, or any other copyrighted symbol...... similar to the tv commercials selling oil with a old taurus in the background sans its markings, but to flat out say stop all activities is assinine imo...... every company has the right to protect themselves, absolutely, but those companies that sell a prduct to the open market/public lose the right to "control" ALL aspects of how the car or product is subsequently utilized, just becasue they have a logo on it...... again, just my uneducated 2cents! hehehehehe

 

Exactly. The banner for example. Is DCX aware of it (the part that deals with that)? maybe. Again, I think it's good to make the distinction of COULD they enforce it and WOULD they enforce it.

Note that the answer to "could" might be no but the answer to "would" might still be yes. They might just threaten legal action which might be enough since the small guy can't risk the ruin or can't afford to defend at all. If intentional that would make them scum. On the other hand they might do that as a blanket policy and then only follow through on cases that actually warrant it. Same lousy effect on the small guy but more of an unfortunate, sad and possibly unavoidable collateral damage from their side.

 

naaaah, ron don't know squat!!!! :rofl:

 

hmmm... you may have a point there... but give him a chance. ask him about that graphic on the trunk lid.

 

Wow, this is crazy, I can't believe Ford is wasting it's time on something so small as this. They've got billions and billions of reasons to focus elsewhere yet they have to come down on BMC?!?! Geeez. Just another case of one of the big boys throwing their weight around.

For the record I agree with Chris but also see Quicks points. Kinda reminds me of what happened to a parts place out here years ago called Porsche Heaven. HUGE place for Porsche service, parts, mods, etc., and somewhere in the 90s it got on Porsches radar and they didn't like it so they made them change their name. Now they're Parts Heaven. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

There's 2 sides to every arguement (otherwise there wouldn't be one, haha) but sometimes when the other side is sooooooo stupid (like Ford in this case) you just have to wonder ... :wallbash:

 

dude...seriously?...did Lisa rip their heads off for that? hahaha

 

ford kind of makes me wanna get rid of my stang :naww:









but no im not

 

And yet Ford wonders why they can't make any money. They don't make any exciting cars to attract new buyers away from other brands, then they shoot their loyal buyers in the foot. Great marketing strategy. Are Larry and Curly working on the assembly line too?

 

Lol! Yea, and Moe's CEO!! :doh:

 

what Ford should do is stop wasting thier time on this crap and try to invest more money to win Nascar races.....:laser:

 

I was thinking Moe was VP of Marketing, but CEO works just as well.:thumb3:

 

I can totally understand going after a parts biz or somethign like that...although I dont agree with it..but a club...not so much. Granted at this point we have not recieved any correspondance form Ford...they just dont want Cafe Press printing anything w any members cars on them.

The thing is the point of Cafe Press is so that any individual can upload pics of their family, car, etc and make shirts mugs, calandars etc...it doesnt even mean they are being sold to the masses. For example Lisa makes a calalndar of her car every year...not to sell but buy for herself and GIVE AWAY to sponsors etc...right now she is not allowed to do that under the terms! So honestly this has nothing to do w/ profit..the only person making any profit on those is the printer..and unless Ford knows of a free printer that will apply anywhere you go.
The problem is we are one of the largest Mustang Clubs in the world right now...and will actually surpass the size of the Mustang Club of America within the year...so we are on the radar...but the flip side is we are not the mom and pop mustang part stores they have been doing this to we have thousands of members and potentially hundreds of thousands of Ford behind us...so this can become a big media event...vs when some shop is asked to stop doing something. People dont care so much when it doesnt effect them...but this touches thousands of people directly.

 

Fully agree, I'm behind you 100%!! This is just crazy. I mean I could understand if you were selling the stuff but you're not, how can Ford say you can't make a print of your own car?!?! That's crazy. I thought this was America, guess I was wrong. It just infuriates me, I don't know how you guys haven't ... :blowup: