I8ABMR

About the same time Chrysler and Fiat executives were running through a marathon eight -hour look into the future with the world's automotive, Pentastar lawyers were working over the principal at Lake Mary High School in Lake Mary, Florida. You may be asking yourself what Chrysler lawyers would want with principal Michael Kotkin when, just six months earlier, The Pentastar needed billions of taxpayer dollars to exit bankruptcy. Good question, for sure, but the answer is pretty lame.

Moto Bullet reports that Chrysler's legal department was reportedly all up in Kotkin's grill because the school's logo was a near-perfect match for the Dodge Ram logo. Team Pentastar ordered the school to replace the company's favorite goat head as the school logo or risk having to drive a Sebring head into court. Chrysler lawyers even had several photos of the logo being used at the school in several different spots. The Seminole County School District decided that the logo wasn't worth an expensive legal battle, so the school, ranked in the top 1.4 percent nationally for academics, reportedly has until June 15 to remove it from the premises. But while avoiding court will likely save the district plenty of money, the school won't get out of this mess scot-free. Removing the horned-head from the school's gym floor alone will reportedly cost the school (read: local taxpayers) $15,000, or roughly the cost of a new science book for about 300 kids.

We don't want to pretend that we're experts on branding rights and corporate logos, but we just can't see what the harm is to Dodge if the brand and the school share the logo. After all, we're assuming the school isn't going to start making a competitive truck in wood shop. Principal Kotkin is still putting a positive spin on the situation, saying that Chrysler's actions have "galvanized my school," but unfortunately for Team Pentastar, the school's new battle cry sounds something like "I'll never buy a Chrysler as long as I live."

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/20/c...e-of-ram-logo/


Chrysler sucks. imho its one of the trashiest brand sold in the US, and now I think even less of them

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Chrysler sucks at life imo...

C. McHale

This company should be out of business. Should have let them die rather than bailing their sorry asses out.

chrisyano

So I'm assuming Chrysler is in the black now so as not to be spending taxpayer money suing taxpayers .

Possibly closer to their older Ram logo? Doesn't look close enough to me to warrant this kind of move by Chrysler.

IS-SV

Lawyers loved this waste of time.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

O'Reilly should do some airtime on this.

jackblack7

I'm no expert re intellectual property, but I think the problem with Trademarks is that you if you don't enforce them, you could potentially lose your rights to them.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

you guys are WRONG. if a school used the lexus logo, don't you think lexus would pursue it legally? no different.

jackblack7

Absolutely. Chrysler is not in the wrong here. The mistake was made by whoever designed that logo, and whoever approved its use all over the school. Like the principal said, he's no expert. But he should have gotten some expert advice.

mmarshall

Bitkahuna and jackblack are both correct. If this were a Lexus matter, it would probably be handled more or less the same way. Like it or not, that's just the nature of today's litigious society.

LexFather

Yup. Websites like SELOC got a nice chat with their lawyers over the use of their font a few years ago (and logo use etc). They were friendly, supportive of our efforts and to the point.

This is no different.

-J-P-L-

I didn't realize Chrysler had purchased the exclusive rights from God to use the image of this animal.

Seriously, the front image of a ram's head cannot be exclusively owned. Plus, the graphic isn't even the same.

The comparative argument that Lexus would do the same is irrelevant as Lexus doesn't use a generic image of an animal. Lexus does, however, own the distinct angled "L" shape within it's circular frame.

LexFather

Not just a Chrysler issue. Companies spend billions for their brand/logo/image and for good reason.

mmarshall

The association of the ram's head with Dodge is nothing new.....it goes back decades. It was first used in the 1970's on Dodge pickups and the Ramcharger....a Dodge version of the Plymouth Trail Duster SUV. From there, it spread to the car line and became Dodge's official logo. I myself thought it somewhat silly to use an SUV-honed logo for regular passenger cars, but that seems to be the way that Dodge marketers wanted it.

I8ABMR

trade mark infringement or not CHRYSLER SUCKS. I can't believe they are bullying a high school. Why would it be risky if a school had a similar logo???