Has NAXJA ever been attacked by Chrysler?

bigalpha

bigalpha

Moderator
Location
Tucson, AZ
Reason I ask, I'm on a Ford Ranger site and they just got a letter from Ford saying to give up the domain name "Therangerstation.com" and pay $5k for infringement, etc.

Has Jeep/Chrysler ever gone after NAXJA or other Jeep forums?
 
Not that I'm aware of.

You'll note that the club & site don't use Jeep or Cherokee as part of the name or identification. D/C can't go after use of the term "XJ" as it's already in common use by other companies as vehicle ID. See Jaguar XJs and Yamaha also has built an XJ motorcycle.
 
ChiXJeff said:
Not that I'm aware of.

You'll note that the club & site don't use Jeep or Cherokee as part of the name or identification. D/C can't go after use of the term "XJ" as it's already in common use by other companies as vehicle ID. See Jaguar XJs and Yamaha also has built an XJ motorcycle.
Click to expand...

Fortunately, Chrysler is no longer "D/C".
 
Ranger is in use by other companies too, Polaris Ranger, Ranger boats, etc.

Why would a law firm wanna shut down an enthusiast website?
 
bigalpha said:
Ranger is in use by other companies too, Polaris Ranger, Ranger boats, etc.

Why would a law firm wanna shut down an enthusiast website?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily shut em down, but if there's any money being made, they want it.

Leeches.

Robert
 
They don't have a choice. The courts have held that owners of a trademark have to pursue any and all violations of their trademark, until a court tells them it's not infringing. I'll bet that your references have been hauled into court in the past.

For that matter, Beretta had to file suit against General Motors 20+ years ago over the name of a new model GM was producing. At least in part, it was to ensure that they would not lose protection of their trademark in the firearms industry.
 
For a set of forums for car enthusiasts, there really isn't any money being made; for the website at least.

It's just insane that a company has to go after a website titled "TheRangerStation". If it was about an independent group that trained junior rangers, would they still go after that domain name?
 
ChiXJeff said:
They don't have a choice. The courts have held that owners of a trademark have to pursue any and all violations of their trademark, until a court tells them it's not infringing. I'll bet that your references have been hauled into court in the past.

For that matter, Beretta had to file suit against General Motors 20+ years ago over the name of a new model GM was producing. At least in part, it was to ensure that they would not lose protection of their trademark in the firearms industry.
Click to expand...

Hm, okay...

I guess that's also why Jeep should have protested the grille on the original Humvee, because once they let that go, it was fair game for the H2 and H3...

Robert
 
ChiXJeff said:
Uh.... They *DID*. And got bounced out of court.

Edit: http://ipcenter.bna.com/pic2/ip.nsf/id/BNAP-5GCTYW?OpenDocument
Click to expand...

The court also held that the dilution action was barred by laches because the plaintiff failed to challenge either the Hummer grille or the grille of the earlier military "Humvee" when they appeared
Click to expand...

That was the part of the story I remembered.

I knew they went after em for the H2, but (in part) because they'd let the Humvee slide, it was no longer considered "Jeep" proprietary...

Robert
 
i too am on TRS and i received this email:

Dear Member,

I appologize for this email. I don't normally email the members but this is an
emergency.

Today, (December 9, 2008) I received a letter from the law offices of Howard,
Phillips & Andersen that represent the Ford Motor Company. Ford is forcing us to
surrender the name 'therangerstation.com' to them and stop using it. Ford states
that using the name 'Ranger' when used in reference to the Ford Ranger is a
trademark violation. In addition they are wanting me to pay them $5,000.

As you may know, The Ranger Station has been around for the past 10 years and has
been a valuable resource to Ranger enthusiasts.

If Ford does this to us, where will they stop?

I have 10-days to surrender the name and pay them $5,000. I'm asking that you
contact Ford online and ask them to reconsider making us change our name and
prohibiting us from using the word 'Ranger'.

You can contact them at:

https://secure.ford.com/footer/contact- ... licAffairs

a sample of what one of the members wrote is:

"To whom it may concern:

I am writing concerning your recent legal attacks on various "fan" websites for
vehicles such as the Mustang and Ranger. I am insulted by this careless misuse of
our legal system and am reconsidering any further vehicle purchases from your
company until you cease and desist from any further legal action concerning this
subject. I have been a Ford owner for many years and I had hoped to stay that way.
These attacks are morally wrong since they are geared towards your customers, and do
not instill the least bit of confidence in your brand. For the sake of your
business, I ask you to please reconsider immediately.

Thank you."

Thank you for your support and I applogize for this email.

Jim Oaks
TheRangerStation.com
Click to expand...
 
Okay, you're right, they didn't protest the original Humvee grille. And that's a good part of why Jeep lost, they failed to protest in a timely manner.
 
E-Mail sent:
Just an opinion, but harassing your fan base, I.E. Threatening fan web sites, making demands and extorting compensation, seems like biting the hand that feeds you. This is what gangsters do, not reputable customer based companies. And in my opinion can have no benefit to your company and will likely erode an already shrinking customer pool.
Customers may be stupid, but most aren't fools and resent being milked for the last possible dollar, while at the same time paying for mostly over priced products.
Maybe you should have your people write a "how to" manual, on turning loyal customers into resentful non customers.

Sincerely, Stupid but not Foolish
 
Last edited:
wim hoppenbrouwers said:
Will it be usefull to send also a Email to Ford as a Naxja forumuser?
If it is usefull and help indirect Naxja I will do that also.:yap:
Click to expand...

The idea guys and the bean counters are always trying to figure out ways to milk the customer. That is how they justify their existence. If one company can make it work, you can bet others will follow suit.
They have one group paid to promote their product and another trying to figure out ways to milk the last possible buck out of every transaction and probably a third group trying to fix what the first two groups screw up.
Smart guys would encourage most any and all methods of promoting their product, instead of harassing their fan base.
 
I thought about writing in my E-Mail. I already told Dodge to "Ram It" When I bought my last Ford, maybe it's time to buy Japanese.
 
Yeah, I got that same email. I haven't been on TRS long, but I still sent an email to Ford.

I wonder if JF have been targeted like that?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

EricsXJ
Why NAXJA.
Replies
9
Views
594
cj_mike
C
N
  • Locked
Uninstalling the OEM Anti-lock Braking System
Replies
0
Views
857
NAXJA_Archives
N
W
New build advice needed.
2
Replies
23
Views
6K
Goose_XJ88
Goose_XJ88
X
XR3Z's vs 19 XF2E's (2001 XJ) and so much more
Replies
5
Views
3K
xcm
xcm
J
possibly Looking at/for an XJ 2dr or 4dr
Replies
8
Views
675
Bent
Bent
Back
Top