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Customer LoginsFord vs Ferrari the F150/F-150 title fight
Talk about Heavy Weight vs Feather Weight! Ford who sells about a bazillion F150s a year (Okay - 343,284 in 2010 based on Polk U.S. Total Registrations if you want to be specific) has sued Ferrari to stop them from using the "F-150" name for their new Formula 1 Race car that there will be a total production run of what - 10 units? Why? Where's the logic?
Can they really say that the F1 race fans in the rest of the world (and let's be clear about this, they make NASCAR fans look like your local little league cheering team, there are that many and they are that obsessed) are going to get confused? Can they really say that Ferrari is going to unfairly cash in on all their hard work to develop the F-150 name over decades at the expense of millions of dollar in marketing and development?
No - they cannot.
However, they can say that if they don't defend this encroachment on their copyright, they may lose the right to defend it against any future encroachments. That could be another Formula 1 race car, Ken and Barbie's new ride or an "F/150" pick-up truck introduced in the U.S. market by another OEM looking to cash in.
This specific case may seem petty, but sometimes you have to look ahead and consider the implications of not taking action.
Fortunately, press reports indicate Ferrari has recognized the error of their ways (harmless mistake with unintended future ramifications?) and will now always use the name "Ferrari F150th Italia." Hopefully the sanity will continue and no one will sue for damages...
Posted by Chris Royle, Director, Strategy and Planning, Polk (02.11.2011)