Ford Sues Ferrari On F150

Published: Saturday, February 12, 2011, 12:20 [IST]

The car makers are at will to install a brand name for their products and take advantage from its reach to the market. This is very acute in the US market where the brand is of most important. Recent episode involving Ford Motors suing Ferrari on the issue of brand naming has caused much spark in the auto industry. The charges against the Italian sports car maker are the cybersquatting and violation of trademark rights with regard to F150. Domain squatting, as it is otherwise called, is the term for Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act in the US which finds infringement of registering, using a domain with bad faith intent to profit, trafficking of some other companies. Ford motors actually makes a pick up truck with the brand name F-150 and this name is either intentionally or not used by Ferrari for its sports version F1.

Ford motors now claims that Ferrari has been involved in using the brand and logo violating the registration of trade marks. The legal counsel for Ford claimed that Ferrari has installed the trade mark of Ford"s F150 for enhancing the growth and profit, which is sheer misappropriation. This violated the efforts taken by Ford in all these years to establish a reputation for F150. But Ferrari countered these charges on the basis that it branded the car to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Italy unification. Ford motors took initiatives at the very beginning instructing Ferrari to change the name but there had been no timely response from Ferrari and hence this suit, said the spokesperson of Ford. With this legal dispute, Ford motors claim unspecified damages from the Italian Ferrari by way of whatever revenue which the latter may accrue from this F-150.

Article Published On: Saturday, February 12, 2011, 12:10 [IST]

Read more on: #anjana #cars #ferrari #ford

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