Ford sued Ferrari in federal court today, accusing them of cybersquatting and trademark infringement for allegedly misappropriating the famous F-150 name. Ford said in a statement: "F-150î is an established and important Ford trademark and the name of the best-seller in Fordââ¬â¢s F-Series, Americaââ¬â¢s best-selling trucks for 34 years and best-selling vehicles for 29 years. Through extensive sales and advertising and exclusive use, Ford has earned invaluable goodwill in the F-150î trademark. That hard-won goodwill is seriously threatened by Ferrariââ¬â¢s adoption of 'F150'." Ford also claims: "when Ferrari announced the name of its race car as 'F150', Ford asked Ferrari to change the name. Ferrari did not respond in a timely manner, leaving Ford no choice but to take legal action to protect its important brand and trademark rights" I think this is all a bit stupid - the Ford F-150 is a ****ing pickup truck, while the Ferrari F150 is an F1 car, 2 completely different sectors of the car industry. One is in mass production, the other will not be sold.
Seriously? why would ford get scared there F-150 truck customers would rather buy a Ferrari F150 f1 car? Hillbilly's in F1 cars????
it is probably all down to internet searches.... this is only my theory but, if said hill billy thinks, oh man do I get a ford pick up or a another? I know, I will google F150 & a another to compare the 2........ F150 search results will be swamped with news of how good (or bad) the F150 f1 car is doing so said hill billy gives up looking for a ford f150 review & buys the other pick up
Ferrari appears to have changed the name of its 2011 Formula One car to the F150th Italia. Yesterday Ford revealed that it is suing Ferrari for calling its single-seater the F150. Following the reports of legal action, Ferrari has twice referred to its 2011 car as the "Ferrari F150th Italia", as testing resumes at Jerez. In an official report, Ferrari said there had been "two million hits from 149 countries for the Ferrari F150th Italia on the Ferrari site" and the link from its main website to the car's website has been altered to display the new name. Ford said it is seeking to prevent Ferrari from using the trademark in the US, where the F-150 has consistently been one of the best-selling vehicles in recent years. "Ferrari has misappropriated the F-150 trademark ... in order to capitalise on and profit from the substantial goodwill that Ford has developed," Ford said in its lawsuit.
Ferrari have issued a statement: “On the subject of the name of the new Ferrari Formula 1 car, the Maranello company wishes to point out that it has sent a letter of reply to Ford, underlining the fact that the F150 designation (used as the abbreviated version of the complete name, which is Ferrari F150th Italia) never has, nor ever will be used as the name of a commercially available product – indeed there will definitely not be a production run of single-seaters. “In fact, it has always been the case in the history of Scuderia names, that they represent the nomenclature of a racing car project and are linked to a chronological order with a technical basis, or in exceptional cases, to special occasions. This year, the decision was taken to dedicate the car name to a particularly significant event, the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, an event of such great importance that the Italian government has declared, for this year only, a national holiday. “For these reasons, Ferrari believes that its own contender in the forthcoming F1 championship cannot be confused with other types of commercially available vehicle of any sort whatsoever, nor can it give the impression that there is a link to another brand of road-going vehicle. Therefore it is very difficult to understand Ford’s viewpoint on the matter. “Despite this and to further prove it is acting in good faith and that it operates in a completely correct manner, Ferrari has decided to ensure that in all areas of operation, the abbreviated version will be replaced at all times with the full version, Ferrari F150th Italia.”
Cant believe Ford will get upaty about a F1 car name that is sybolic to the reunification of the Italian nation. What is wrong with them!
