Ford and Mustangs - Ford Speaks

You'll recall the story about Ford and the Mustang club that I've posted about or alluded to a couple of times in this blog.

Well, it's appropriate that I present some updated information, courtesy Shel Holtz:

Ford appears to be a lot more social-media savvy than they get credit for, because somebody there was monitoring the situation and set the record straight in comments to several posts. That somebody, Whitney Drake with Ford Communications, commented on the Boing Boing post:

"Ford did not send the Black Mustang Club a 'cease and desist' letter telling them that they could not use images of their own cars in their calendar. The decision not to allow the calendars to be printed was made by Cafe Press, because we had gotten in touch with them in the past about trademark infringements on products they sold.

"The Black Mustang Club, and any other Ford enthusiast club, are free to take pictures of their own vehicles for use in calendars or other materials as long as they don’t use Ford trademarks in products that will be sold.

"I think it is great that the Black Mustang Club, and any other enthusiast club, would take pictures of their own vehicles for use in calendars or other materials.

"I’m looking forward to purchasing a copy to hang in the garage next to my Mustang (even if mine isn’t black)."

And BMC Forums themselves have posted an update:

BMC Calendars: Approved by Ford & For Sale!

*** THANK YOU FORD ***

Get rid of those CENSOR graphics ... the calendar issue (and rights to print images of our own vehicles) has been resolved. After hearing from a few members of the Ford marketing and communications team, I have Ford approval to proceed with printing our 2008 calendar as-is as well as use Danni (and our other vehicles) in BMC logos and all the club marketing materials we have been thus far.

The 2008 BMC Calendar featuring the Members of the Month from 2007 is now on sale! I will not be using Cafepress for printing our calendar or any other materials as (1) they have not yet released our calendar for printing as (2) they are not compliant with Ford, and I do not want to support them for that reason. If you wish to order the now-famous calendar, please ORDER HERE through our own online store, and the calendars will ship in approximately 10 days.

Also, just as you emailed Ford, posted on your local forums and spread the word about this issue when it first arose, PLEASE follow-up with a 'thank you' email to Ford, and PLEASE post a link to this new thread on ALL the forums who have been discussing this issue. I appreciate Ford, and want to be sure we get the positive word out now that this is resolved.

Special thank you to Whitney, who has joined our forums and sent the following message:

My name is Whitney Drake and I work in Ford Communications.
We've been watching this discussion with interest and I'd like to
clarify what is essentially a misunderstanding.

Yesterday we spoke to both Cafe Press and the Black Mustang Club
and explained the situation (about the Black Mustang Club’s calendar) to everyone's satisfaction. Ford has no problem with Mustang or other car owners taking pictures of their vehicles for use in club materials like calendars. What we do have an issue with are individuals using Ford’s logo and other trademarks for products they intend to sell. Understandably, we have to take the protection of our brands and licensing very seriously.

Ford did not send the Black Mustang Club a “cease and desist” letter telling them that they could not use images of their own cars in their calendar. The decision not to allow the calendars to be printed was made by Cafe Press, because we had gotten in touch with them in the past about trademark infringements on products they sold.

The Black Mustang Club, and any other Ford enthusiast club, are free to take pictures of their own vehicles for use in calendars or other materials as long as they don't use Ford trademarks in products that will be sold.

I think it is great that the Black Mustang Club, and any other enthusiast club, would take pictures of their own vehicles for use in calendars or other materials.

I'm looking forward to purchasing a copy to hang in the garage next
to my Mustang (even if mine isn't black).

Thanks for giving us the chance to have our say.

Please take a moment to send Whitney an e-gift here through the forums to thank her for working with us to get this resolved, and for wanting the calendar, too! She's been a great help and I'll continue to work with Whitney and the Ford team, so welcome her to the BMC family!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me directly. I'm enjoyed hearing from all of you who have written with words of encouragement and support. Thank you very much for greatly extending the BMC family this week!

Lisa | BMC Founder
blackmustangclub@gmail.com

So I will be correcting my previous posts on this topic. I regret the error.

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