IM sorry but I call BS SCAM.

If it was FORD they would have gotten a letter in the mail from Ford Lawyer and to call them.

 

i think we should blow up their email, not ford's. i hate attorneys

 

No way. If this is real, I couldn't stand to support Ford anymore. Tacoma, here I come.

 

I must join the patient crowd and wait until I hear something more.

This goes without saying, but if/when R-F gets targeted lets make sure it covers the homepage so that nobody misses the news.

This **** is ridiculous...

 

I cant understand why any company would want to do something like this to thier most loyal customers. Think about it, we are all here because we like our trucks (well, most of us at least). The fact that Ford would want to shut us down due to some sort of copyright violation really confuses me.

 

This is part of the e-mail Jim Oaks sent out......
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.

 

^^^But the name is referencing Ford Rangers.

 

This law firm is indeed real and they are indeed actually doing this. It is not a joke... in the literal sense anyway. That law firm is retained by Ford for trademark and anti-cybersquatting cases.

As far as I can tell, the only way you could be legally in violation of the law is if you are using the name for COMMERCIAL PROFITING purposes, such as a business. We are not a commercial entity and as we do not profit on anything.

It appears to me that these vulture lawyers are FISHING. They are sending these letters out to EVERYONE that has the name in their domain trying to scare unknowing site owners into turning it over an paying the $5,000. When in reality, most users of these names are not commercial entities gaining a profit off it. In my limited opinion, most forums including this one have nothing to worry about.

 

Just tell them we are all homosexual black muslim hermaphrodites and if they continue legal proceedings we will have to contact Jessie Jackson, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and we will get a muslim cleric to issue a fatwa against them!! Hell, they will probably give us $5,000 for the inconvenience.

 

Thanks for the support Matt. That was info a lot of us members were looking for.

I never saw TRS marketing anything to make money, so why them? Why not go after them all instead of just that one? I'm so confused why they chose that site first and/or over all the sites out there....

 

Yall would actually sell your trucks and not buy Fords just because of a website getting shut down? Thats stupid.

 

This is appears to be real, i did a little research on Law Cases and this one is from 2000-2003 in regards to FordWorld.com

Ford Motor Company,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

Peter Catalanotte,

Defendant-Appellant.

B. Procedural History

Ford filed its Complaint in this case on November 30, 2000, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Ford’s Complaint alleges cyberpiracy, trademark dilution, trademark infringement, and false designation of origin. Ultimately, the district court issued its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law on January 10, 2002, finding Catalanotte liable under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999. The district court granted Ford injunctive relief and $5,000 in statutory damages.

 

thats weak ... but come on how many of you guys are REALLY gonna sell your rangers? Not like it hurts ford cause someone else is still gonna be driving it around buying parts.

I guess you guys could all say yall drive b-series and buy anything factory thru the mazda dealers haha

anyone know if fordtruckworld has gotten threatened yet?

 

No, but I will never buy another American automaker vehicle, they are getting my money with the bailout, so if I buy one of their cars then that means I just paid them twice.

 

Jesus christ, it's the Mustang fiasco all over again... this is getting ****ing stupid. I hope they don't attack the Explorer fans..

I mean think about it, that's Ford's biggest and most popular offerings.. F series, Ranger/Explorer and the Mustang... they're gone be gone within 10 years.. just watch... ugh, this pisses me off..

The original founder of Ford would **** his pants if he knew this was going on..

Let's see what happens I guess.... there's really nothing we can do...

 

I stand behind my truck and it's company. If the company turns around and screws over the very people that keep them in business daily, who am I standing for?

I couldn't be proud to drive a Ford if Ford is attacking it's most loyal and supporting consumers.

 

'nuf said

 

I don't go to TRS so I'm speaking with limited knowledge but can't you buy stuff there too?? It just seems to me that TRS, RF, and RPS would all get hit at once if they were really getting serious... so if you can buy through TRS could that be why they are being singled out??

 

next, ford sues every park Ranger in the U.S. because they have the nane "ranger" in their job title.

 

The law firm is trying to justify racking up more billable hours while they can still get money out of Ford.

 

so are places like f-150online being targeted too or is it just us ranger folk?
we just need to wait until an admin. steps in and REALLY tells us whats gonna happen. until then i dont think we have anything to really worry about.

 

I must be the only one that doesnt see a problem with this. Its a Ford Ranger site of people that are making money on shirts and merchandise bearing FORD'S trademark - Ranger.

If someone makes money off of a trademark you own, wouldnt you be a little protective? Its not like its going to charity or anything, its lining someone else's pockets for PROFIT. THATS the issue.


HEY how about this, why dont i start making stickers and shirts that say "Ranger-Forums.com" on them and sell them to everyone but keep the money for myself? I mean, its getting the site exposure isnt it? Shouldnt the admin be greatful that im so fanatic about the site?

 

In that case Ford should sue Polaris. They are selling a product that goes by the name of "Ranger" and making lots of money on it.

 

this site, nor any other ranger site is making money off of ford. tee's from this site pertain to the site and the members within. If i were to have a shirt made with my truck on it(i built it from the ground up) and sold them, would that mean i infringed on a copyright? we all spent our 20k on our trucks, i think we should be able to have freedom of speech(whether in text or picture form).


on a side note, whats so hard about putting a disclaimer on the home page? i.e. ranger-forums.com has no affiliation with ford or ford ranger.... ford and ranger are registered trademarks of ford motor company...... ??????????

 

Ranger applies to the trademark for use as an automobile, not an ATV. If that was the case they could sue Mercury boats as well. Trademark is protected with regards to the product being presented.

I doubt Ranger Station is the name of the shirt.