[Frost__2001]

Ford reportedly suing enthusiast web site over trademark infringements
Dec. 10.08
Source: Leftlanenews

Following up on an earlier story, a little more light has been shed on the case of TheRangerStation.com vs Ford. Apparently there was more to the story than originally met the eye, with the Ranger fan site trying to fool a fast one over on the Blue Oval.

To bring you up to speed:
Earlier today, TheRangerStation.com – a Ford Ranger fan web site – announced that it had received a letter from a law firm representing Ford asking it to give up its domain name along with any products using a registered Ford name or logo. The letter also demands $5,000 for trademark infringements and threatens a law suit of $100,000 if demands are not met.

Ford responded:
“I am certainly not pleased about this,” Scott Monty, head of Ford’s digital communications team, said. “There is nothing more important to us than our loyal fans, and the big picture seems to have escaped some people.”

However, after consulting with Ford’s legal department, Monty revealed “there may be more to the [situation] than meets the eye.” Monty didn’t go into any more detail, but it’s clear there are some underlying issues we’re not privy too.

And now:
It has been revealed that TRS was selling items on its web site, without permission, bearing the Ford and Ranger names/logos — a no-no in today’s world of corporate trademarks. The 10-year old web site must now pay Ford the royalties it is due, or face further legal action. TRS is fighting Ford over the matter, but it doesn’t sound like the site has much hope — kind of like the Ranger itself.