Carroll Shelby Loses Trademark Fight Over Cobra's Design
4 replies, posted
[url=http://jalopnik.com/5681447/carroll-shelby-loses-trademark-fight-over-cobras-design]Source[/url]
[release][img]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/12/2010/11/shelbycobra.jpg[/img]
Carroll Shelby lost his bid to trademark the iconic design of the Cobra 427, the vehicle that made him famous and has been copied thousands of times. Why did he lose? Because it was copied thousands of times.
Shelby's trademark bid was opposed by kit builder Factory Five Racing, which was able to prevail in a ruling last month. U.S. trademark law has a strong "use it or lose it" approach, and while Cobra production began in 1965, Shelby didn't file his trademark application until 1998 - after decades of kit-built replicas. Even letters of support from Lee Iacocca and Sir Stirling Moss did not sway the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Shelby says the decision released last month doesn't change his legacy or how [url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ttab-recognizes-carroll-shelbys-unique-place-in-automotive-history-as-designer-of-over-150-cars-including-the-original-cobras-winners-of-americas-only-world-championship-2010-10-18?reflink=MW_news_stmp]he views the replica industry[/url]:
[quote]"I'm tired of people who can't design their own cars and have copied my designs for years," Shelby added. "These copy-kit guys are like barnacles on the bottom of a beautiful boat...they've latched on for a free ride. But eventually they'll drop off and no one will know they were ever there."[/quote]
Factory Five [url=http://www.factoryfive.com/roadster/update/shape.html]explained their opposition[/url]:
[quote]Our position was that a Shelby trademark would have ignored the factual history of the car, which started life as an AC car with a Ford engine in it, as well as completely discounting the huge contributions that replica guys have made to the car's continuing legacy since the 1970's. We have never denied Shelby's part in history, but he has enjoyed huge popularity, in-part, due to replicas.[/quote][/release]
Excuse me, Mr. Shelby, but [url=http://www.accars.de/]these gentlemen[/url] would like to have a word with you... :colbert:
If you don't defend your trademark/copyright, you lose it.
[QUOTE=not_Morph53;25850223]If you don't defend your trademark/copyright, you lose it.[/QUOTE]
I have huge respect for Mr. Shelby, but he:
a) Didn't build the car
b) DIDN'T BUILD THE FUCKING CAR
If anything, AC Cars should be conter-suing [b]all[/b] the kit-car manufacturers ripping off their design... All Shelby has done was swap the engine on a european Speedster for a bigass Ford V8 and he's calling it his own...
By that logic, if I were to swap the I4 engine on a Civic for a Chevy 350 V8, I can go ahead and trademark it as "my car", right? right? :downs:
[editline]4th November 2010[/editline]
BTW, that AC MK VI GTS is even more badass than a Cobra; it has a 'vette engine
[editline]4th November 2010[/editline]
And Porsche brakes!
As Pretiacruento has pointed out, the car was originally designed by AC cars.
In fact, its original name was the AC Cobra, and was based on the AC Ace, which was built for a decade before Shelby dropped a big V8 into it
[editline]4th November 2010[/editline]
I think kit builds of Cobras are good, 9 times out of ten when you see a cobra it's probably a kit. It's the kit that keeps the Cobra alive.
Cobra kits are stupid unless they got the engine to boot.
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