hey guys. I have been made aware that Ford-Diesel.Com was sent a letter stating that they can not use their name. Ford has told them that they change the name or face a lawsuit for trademark infringement.
My reason for posting this is as follows. WTF can we do here as a contigency plan in case this happens here? I know that Ford AU supports us, but is that going to be enough to keep us alive? I dont want to shut this server down because of Ford stating that we can not use the Ford name in our URL.
What do I have for a back up plan? Not sure at this moment in time. some suggestions are welcome.
Some of them have been
blueovalforums.com
blueoval.com.au
I am just getting a bit worried over this now. There is rumor that there are other sites that are getting this letter. Are we next?
First and foremost John, you must not expose yourself to any legal liability in the States or here. Nor do I see it worth your while to seek any legal advice, you just won't have enough money and neither do I to help you.
I also see little sense in alerting the media to this as neither side stand to gain anything if you really think about it.
I think that your contingency plan is to have a name change available and known to members in case this escalates, (something with blueoval in it works for me). Though I would hate for you to loose the fordforums.com domain name unnecessarily if common sense eventually wins through and this action disappears.
Come to think of it "blue oval" may also be a TM in one form or another. Perhaps a common ground is to explore suitable names with Ford, this may also help them realise that they are playing with enthusiasts.
Obviously I can't speak for your US connections, but I would like to think that direct dialogue with Geoff P will shed some light about the fate of the Oz forum and perhaps what is driving the issue in the States (ie are they targetting particualr sights that they think are inappropraite or is it a global thing).
One thing I can tell you is that whatever you decide, I'm with you 100%.
I'm happy with FF.com. We all have given good money to wear the blue oval badge. It's only fair that they let us at least use the Blue Oval title in a name if need be.
Check the laws in other countries. Maybe if the fordforums.com server is physically located in Australia then Ford US can't do shit to us (unless we have similar laws). Relocate the server to a country that doesn't have such laws.
If that doesn't then FF.com is a great name. Maybe put a banner at the top that tells all and sundry about FoMoCo's great customer and enthusiast relations.
I can understand FoMoCo going after sites that make money from the Ford name, but to go after enthusiast sites such as this one is ludricrous.
Just my 32 bits worth...
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