It looks we'll be able to continue to buy roadsters and coupes.
Not much new information here beyond the headline.
http://www.s-t.com/daily/02-02/02-13-02/a03lo015.htm
Here's the whole text:
Ford, Shelby reach settlement with Wareham business
Factory Five workers on the job yesterday; details due later
By JOAO FERREIRA, Standard-Times staff writer
WAREHAM -- Ford Motor Co. and Shelby American Monday night settled a trademark infringement lawsuit against local kit-car maker Factory Five Racing before the case even went to trial.
No details of the in-court settlement are available.
"The parties have agreed not to release any information to the press for a week from the day of the settlement," said Randall T. Weeks, Factory Five attorney, yesterday.
While no details of the settlement are available, Factory Five was open for business yesterday and still rolling out the do-it-yourself Cobra assembly kits at the center of the question. By staying open, the local business, located on the Wareham industrial park on Kendrick Road, keeps about 40 people on the job.
The settlement was reached Monday around 6:30 p.m. after court-ordered mediation between the parties.
Judge A. David Mazzone mediated the settlement.
The trial of the kit-car maker accused of unlawfully reproducing Ford trademarks was scheduled to start Monday at 9 a.m. at U.S. District Court in Boston.
But as attorneys for Factory Five and Ford dragged about 60 boxes of documents to the courtroom, Judge Rya W. Zobel ordered parties back to mediation, citing the magnitude of the trial.
Witnesses from several parts of the country were also on hand to testify in the case.
Closed-door negotiations ensued for the better part of the day and the parties involved often met in the hallways and discussed the case.
Ford was seeking statutory damages and an injunction against Factory Five for the use of the "Cobra" name and logo.
Automotive legend Carroll Shelby -- on hand Monday at the trial -- was also suing the company for $10 million for allegedly counterfeiting the Cobra design.
While a non-jury trial on the Ford suit was scheduled to start Monday, the jury trial on the Shelby's suit was still pending.
Both suits were resolved Monday night.
Mr. Weeks had said last week that he was confident about his client's chances regarding the Ford suit.
Factory Five had argued in court that Ford abandoned the Cobra name and logo when it failed to use the marks in commerce and actively police the marks.
It had also argued that Mr. Shelby abandoned his rights to the design and Cobra name, in part by not trying to stop other companies from copying it for 30 years. The Wareham company said the design had become generic.
However Ford and Shelby attorneys had said that even though production of the Cobra car stopped in 1997, Mr. Shelby continued to use the Cobra name through licensing agreements and such side products as toy models.
Mr. Shelby has gotten 14 injunctions protecting his trademark in other states and has fought trademark violations for years.
Ford owns the rights to the Cobra name and design, and Mr. Shelby uses them under license.
Ford obtained the trademark from legendary Mr. Shelby as part of a sponsorship agreement in 1965, when he raced in the World Manufacturers Series.
Mr. Shelby created the Cobra legend by dropping a powerful Ford Mustang engine into the body of a British-designed AC Ace roadster. He sold the cars until 1967.
The cars quickly became the icon of an automotive era and have been widely replicated for the last 30 years.
Mr. Shelby restarted manufacturing his original Cobra in the 1990s after a long litigation with Ford.
Factory Five is the biggest kit-car maker in the world, producing about 500 kits a year.
The Factory Five Racing kit retails for $10,990, but a new Shelby Cobra 427 SC costs $59,000 to $90,000.
Kit-car customers have to provide an engine, chassis and other mechanical components, bringing the total cost of the car to $16,000 to $40,000.
[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: Sleeper ]
[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: Sleeper ]
Not much new information here beyond the headline.
http://www.s-t.com/daily/02-02/02-13-02/a03lo015.htm
Here's the whole text:
Ford, Shelby reach settlement with Wareham business
Factory Five workers on the job yesterday; details due later
By JOAO FERREIRA, Standard-Times staff writer
WAREHAM -- Ford Motor Co. and Shelby American Monday night settled a trademark infringement lawsuit against local kit-car maker Factory Five Racing before the case even went to trial.
No details of the in-court settlement are available.
"The parties have agreed not to release any information to the press for a week from the day of the settlement," said Randall T. Weeks, Factory Five attorney, yesterday.
While no details of the settlement are available, Factory Five was open for business yesterday and still rolling out the do-it-yourself Cobra assembly kits at the center of the question. By staying open, the local business, located on the Wareham industrial park on Kendrick Road, keeps about 40 people on the job.
The settlement was reached Monday around 6:30 p.m. after court-ordered mediation between the parties.
Judge A. David Mazzone mediated the settlement.
The trial of the kit-car maker accused of unlawfully reproducing Ford trademarks was scheduled to start Monday at 9 a.m. at U.S. District Court in Boston.
But as attorneys for Factory Five and Ford dragged about 60 boxes of documents to the courtroom, Judge Rya W. Zobel ordered parties back to mediation, citing the magnitude of the trial.
Witnesses from several parts of the country were also on hand to testify in the case.
Closed-door negotiations ensued for the better part of the day and the parties involved often met in the hallways and discussed the case.
Ford was seeking statutory damages and an injunction against Factory Five for the use of the "Cobra" name and logo.
Automotive legend Carroll Shelby -- on hand Monday at the trial -- was also suing the company for $10 million for allegedly counterfeiting the Cobra design.
While a non-jury trial on the Ford suit was scheduled to start Monday, the jury trial on the Shelby's suit was still pending.
Both suits were resolved Monday night.
Mr. Weeks had said last week that he was confident about his client's chances regarding the Ford suit.
Factory Five had argued in court that Ford abandoned the Cobra name and logo when it failed to use the marks in commerce and actively police the marks.
It had also argued that Mr. Shelby abandoned his rights to the design and Cobra name, in part by not trying to stop other companies from copying it for 30 years. The Wareham company said the design had become generic.
However Ford and Shelby attorneys had said that even though production of the Cobra car stopped in 1997, Mr. Shelby continued to use the Cobra name through licensing agreements and such side products as toy models.
Mr. Shelby has gotten 14 injunctions protecting his trademark in other states and has fought trademark violations for years.
Ford owns the rights to the Cobra name and design, and Mr. Shelby uses them under license.
Ford obtained the trademark from legendary Mr. Shelby as part of a sponsorship agreement in 1965, when he raced in the World Manufacturers Series.
Mr. Shelby created the Cobra legend by dropping a powerful Ford Mustang engine into the body of a British-designed AC Ace roadster. He sold the cars until 1967.
The cars quickly became the icon of an automotive era and have been widely replicated for the last 30 years.
Mr. Shelby restarted manufacturing his original Cobra in the 1990s after a long litigation with Ford.
Factory Five is the biggest kit-car maker in the world, producing about 500 kits a year.
The Factory Five Racing kit retails for $10,990, but a new Shelby Cobra 427 SC costs $59,000 to $90,000.
Kit-car customers have to provide an engine, chassis and other mechanical components, bringing the total cost of the car to $16,000 to $40,000.
[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: Sleeper ]
[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: Sleeper ]
