the forum made a calendar of users pics. ford shut it down bc they said that the content of the pictures are ford'* property. not the owner of the car and pic.

The Ford enthusiast site wanted to make calendars of their own vehicles basically. They took pictures of their own cars and had them printed on a calendar and Ford'* lawyers contacted the company that was printing them and said to stop. Ford claims they own the copyright on ANY picture taken of their vehicles, even after purchase. So basically they're saying it'* illegal for the car buyers to take pictures of their own vehicles under any circumstance and print them. (I would assume even the developing of film, or printing of digital media.) Ford has threatened to sue. For us, it'd be the same thing if Pontiac threatened us to stop using our cars in our signature pictures, not post pictures of our vehicles without their permission, or use the Bonneville name or vehicle on any hats, posters, etc etc. That'* how far fetched Ford is being to its enthusiasts right now.

well, thats not exactly what "ford" said.

the pictures are 100% the property of the person who took the pic. not ford, but the beef is that the image in the pic is ford'* tm design. and ford doesnt want them to make money off of their "design"

Ford is nitpicking. Im glad I got rid of my ford now. They are in such pain right now they want to get every dime they can concivably get.

It'* back up now.

I have been working in the photo-development biz for about five years now, and according to US Copyright and Patent laws regarding photographs, the photograph is the sole property of the photographer and not the person/thing being photographed.

This is why when you get your photos done at a studio, most photo labs (the ones who follow the law anyway) tell you that you will need a copyright release form in order to use their machines to make duplicates.

As far as the photos go, Ford can in NO way claim rights to them. However, according to patent/trademark laws, there may be some sort of contradiction to this regarding use of a design for profit.

If I were a judge in this case, I would probably rule that because it was a photograph that was taken, there is no grounds for Ford'* dispute, due to the fact that the person(*) in question were not attempting to duplicate the actual product.

I really like the Idea of Car of the months for the Calendar pages =)

Just in case there was a lack of clarity, I was being sarcastic when I said Ford invented "Mustang". They are acting like it though...
Grant

Hey guys a little of subject but look at there sigs they are Bad ***

look at the top of their forum. it has the same "censored" signs. its pretty funny.