QUIKAG

gotta love it:

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2011/02/09/...test=latestnews

Ford Motor Co. has sued Ferrari in Detroit federal court, saying the sports car maker has violated its trademark over the pickup truck name F-150.

The suit is based on Ferrari's naming of its new Formula 1 racing car the "F150," and its creation of the website www.ferrarif150.com.

Dearborn-based Ford says in Wednesday's filing that its trademark is being harmed, and the suit asks a judge to block Ferrari from using the trademark in the U.S.

Ford also seeks unspecified damages from Ferrari.

A message seeking comment was left for Ferrari officials at the company's Modena, Italy headquarters through U.S. spokesman Matteo Sardi.

Ferrari's website says the "F150" marks the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy.

Mr.E.G.

Lame.

Mr.E.G.

Oh, and this is the part where I go, "Good for them. Sue everyone for EVERYTHING!!!!"

coldrsx

I can't wait to see the GIANT F-458 or the ENORMOUS F-599

ruexp67

I hope Ford loses, and is forced to pay all of Ferrari's legal fees.

99% of F-150 pick-ups are sold in the US. 99% of the US population hasn't even heard of F1.

This seems like an excellent use of thier resources.

Angerman

Me too. I hope Ford perishes in my toilet after I'm done eating a 3LB burrito MvF style.

whiteflash

F150 != F-150

Get bent Ford.

cbehney

I don't remember which thread it was, but someone in Car Talk predicted this would happen.

Chris S

For those of you who hope Ford loses, how would you like for a competitor to steal your trademark? Also, trademark holders need to vigorously defend their rights, b/c they could risk losing legal protections should their trademarks become a commonly used, generic term - which explains why Xerox fought so hard to prevent others from using their brand name as a substitute for "copy".

Think about how vigorously Ferrari has gone after kit car mfgs. making Ferrari replicas? Want to sell Ferrari logo'd gear? Better get it licensed, or expect Ferrari to sue you if you do it on a sizable enough scale to get noticed.

Normally, I'd guess this would be a slam dunk case in Ford's favor, but the outcome could be interesting due to 2 factors:
(a) Trademark infringement usually applies to commercial products, but Ferrari is not actually selling the F150. Infringement would prob. be more black and white if they sold merchandise branded w/ the F150 logo.
(B) F1 has no official presence in the US this year. It would be interesting to see if the F150 truck is even sold in the countries where F1 has a presence in '11.

Disclaimer: I'm not an attorney, but know just enough to play one on TV.

QUIKAG

The F-150 is one of Ford's most important trademarks without a doubt, so they probably had no choice but to sue Ferrari over it's use.

I would argue that the F-150 trucks probably makes more profit for Ford than Ferrari makes period, so you can imagine Ford will protect the name at all costs.