Pretty sad when a person can't build a replica in his home garage. This ruling could have wider implications for replica builders.
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Yes it could. Jaguar should be ashamed of itself.
I actually agree with a car companies right to defend their brand, model names and other trademarks and other copyrighted materials. But shapes?
Hopefully Jaguar reconsiders as hopefully a lot of buyers reconsider their offerings
So I couldn't get "the rest of the story." What did they do to piss jaguar off? People have been building Jaguar replicas for decades. Everything from SS100 to XJ-13.
Here's a link to an article with a little more information but still not sure what JLR decided to go after them. Apparently JLR had actual supported their passion and JLR has previously supported the replica industry as a whole. In fact you drive replicas in one of their own sponsored driving experience course.
http://www.clubcobra.com/forum...d-news-replicas.html
And in this court case they lost in an attempt to copyright/trademark the look of the LR Defender:
Geez. That's crazy. Shades of BMW going after their owner's club for use of the Roundel.
If you will recall the suit " Shelby vs. Factory Five Racing " , Shelby lost for the sole reason that the Replica Cobras were produced for decades by other companies and FFR. Shelby never went after them and even confirmed their existence by signing them " for a fee " then decided to sue and lost. I think they will lose on appeal as per the case law of: Shelby vs FFR.
I'm not sure that Sweden cares how a US court decided in the Shelby case.
I don’t know who the lawyer was but to me he didn’t do a good job representing the history of the acceptance of the replica before the court case
In the US you can lose trademark rights if you don't defend them zealously. It's why reporters used to get nastygrams (er, kindly reminders) from the owners of the Kleenex brand and Xerox for using those terms generically.
I don't know if yerp plays by the same rules. But if they have anything similar, Jaguar's failure to discipline Tempero, Suffolk, these guys, or these guys, could be significant.
There’s currently a D-Type aluminum replica on BaT. It is stunning. If I could, I’d buy it just for the noise it makes; resembling a WWII Spitfire.
@Alan Merklin posted:If you will recall the suit " Shelby vs. Factory Five Racing " , Shelby lost for the sole reason that the Replica Cobras were produced for decades by other companies and FFR. Shelby never went after them and even confirmed their existence by signing them " for a fee " then decided to sue and lost. I think they will lose on appeal as per the case law of: Shelby vs FFR.
I would hope so, Alan, but this poor couple of enthusiasts don't have deep pockets like Jaguar Land Rover. The guy had to sell his other classic Jags to help pay for this case, and he still may owe JLR a tidy sum, as he was ordered to pay their court costs. He may lose his house as a result.
Bloody ridiculous. They could have gone after any Jaguar replica builder, but they attack some retired bloke who has been building this replica out of a labour of love. It was a complete act of betrayal on the part of JLR to use this guy to win a legal point.
His daughter has started a GoFundMe page to help him cover his legal costs and the cost of an appeal, and every replica builder world wide should contribute to it, if just out of principle.
Someone at Jaguar decided on a strategy. They targeted this business, they chose to litigate in that country, all for reasons. They calculated. They are protecting their brand.
Who owns the Jaguar brand?
Scions of scions of a legendary industrialist.
Chairman emeritus:
"Mr. Tata was the Chairman of the major Tata companies, including Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Power, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels and Tata Teleservices and during his tenure, the group’s revenues grew manifold, totaling over $ 100 billion in 2011-12.
"Mr. Tata serves on the international advisory boards of Mitsubishi Corporation and JP Morgan Chase. He is the Chairman of the Tata Trusts which are amongst India's oldest, non-sectarian philanthropic organizations that work in several areas of community development. He is the Chairman of the Council of Management of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and also serves on the board of trustees of Cornell University and the University of Southern California."
...
"The Government of India honored Mr. Tata with its second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2008. He has been appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and Rockefeller Foundation has conferred him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Among his other achievements, Mr. Tata is also an honorary fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Royal Academy of Engineering and a foreign associate of National Academy of Engineering. He has received honorary doctorates from several universities in India and overseas."
etc. and soforth.
I'm guessing he's not a "car guy."
And here's your "Brand Custodian" who, if the company's lines of authority were in any way related to its titles, would be the guy responsible for this lawsuit. (But probably he has no idea, as all this happened six or seven layers of management below him).
This guy has long been involved with Tata Motors. He might actually be involved with the suit, at least in terms of having signed off absently one afternoon before (Tetley, of course) tea.
But who is really responsible?
DR. RALF SPETH was the CEO, Jaguar Land Rover until about 15 minutes ago.
As you may be aware, Jaguar has not been performing at peak lately, and its brand strategy (in the West at least) has been to remind rich folks about the majesty of its glory days with limited edition re-issues, and market everything with reference to that.
I can't find on line who is the boss of "Jaguar Classic" but it's a lock that the persons helming the legal section of this microscopic division within the tiny Jaguar division of the Lilliputan British motorcar division of the rather larger Tata Automotive division of the much more substantial Tata Industries wrote the initial memo outlining the strategy behind this lawsuit.
I'm sure it was all quite straightforward. Nothing personal, old chap.
Thanks, @edsnova.
I hope that enough people get publicly upset about JLR’s actions to cause a course change, but most folks will remain blissfully ignorant.
The whole story is ridiculous
@edsnova posted:Someone at Jaguar decided on a strategy. They targeted this business, they chose to litigate in that country, all for reasons. They calculated. They are protecting their brand.
... I'm sure it was all quite straightforward. Nothing personal, old chap.
They bankrupted a retired couple with a lifelong love of the brand (who were obliged to pay JLR's legal fees). The ruling said that offending car was to be crushed.
I'd say that's about as personal as it gets.
Ed. Thanks for your investigative journalism on this story. Who cares about real car guys when corporations make decisions.
Stan: Has the car been crushed? I didn't think that had happened yet, pending appeal (if the poor bugger can afford that).
Such a pathetic action by JLR to institute this law suit. I really hope this story gains traction and something good comes out of it.
It's my fashion to go on anti-government rants every now and again (as Gordon has pointed out)-- but it is situations like this that have coalesced, solidified, and reinforced my opinion that in the great majority of instances government (rather than existing to provide a level playing field and protect the weakest members of society from becoming grist for the mill) protects and advances the interests of the richest and most powerful.
I'm not an anarchist, or even especially anti-authoritarian-- I believe completely in authority derived from taking and exercising responsibility capably, and I know that leaders should be respected, even when they lead imperfectly (as all leaders are wont to do).
But I absolutely believe that power is almost always corrupted with money, and that power and money have a natural affinity for one another. JLR brought and paid for this ruling, and I'll never believe otherwise. It is a perfect distillation of the golden rule: those with the gold always rule.
One expects this sort of thing in a kleptocracy or totalitarian state-- but in point of fact, this kind of thing happens all the time in places which give lip-service to the primacy of the individual. Tilting the table towards the most powerful is just baked in the government cake. It matters not how liberal the democracy claims to be-- what seems to be the uniting characteristic is how much love and trust of authority exists in a given country, and how much government people want. Nordic nations love, love, love their government. It doesn't surprise me at all that JLR chose Sweden as the place to bring suit.
Germany is next, just FYI.
It's said that in heaven, the Germans are the engineers, the English are the cops, and the French are the chefs. In hell, the Germans are the cops, the English are the chefs, and the French are the engineers.
I read this article the other day very interesting along similar lines Lee Smith on Tablet "The Thirty Tyrants"