Trademark infringement notice...

[fig]

Its because of VW SA that I will never again buy any new VW from them

Me too. Because of VW's crap attitude towards enthusiasts who keep obsolete VW models on the road (with zero support from VW), and also because of lawyers' letters like the one Eben received, which I have seen sent to very many websites catering for obsolete VW models, and even to works of art, I refuse to buy a new Volkswagen ever.

To date, mrsfig and I have bought three new cars from other manufacturers when we might otherwise have bought new Volkswagens, since we actually like new VW cars (and I prefer them to the Toyotas we bought instead). VWSA, it's time to rein in your lawyers and their parasitic tendencies. And how about acknowledging air-cooled VW enthusiasts and their efforts by offering parts and support like the American manufacturers (Ford, GM, Mopar) and Porsche and Mercedes-Benz do for their older models.

[fig]

The reasonable person should be able to tell the difference between this site and the vw sa site.

Indeed! Unfortunately corporate lawyers are not reasonable people; just money-grubbing parasites.

[Retrobug]

I wonder if anyone at corporate VW South Africa have even taken the time to read the forum and see what it;s about!
They might be pleasantly surprised and discover that it is actually to the benefit of their ailing brand since they offer no support!

[oldschoolgp]

I have called vw many time just querying about parts ....and those guys just laughs at me like I'm trying to prank them .....many old vw vehicles are on sa roads because of the interactions we have on this site ....they should actualy be thanking Eben for creating this site

[retrovan]

I do believe this is the work of a basement junior clerk, that is toying with the thought of an promotion.

Some one that has never heard of an Aircooled VW, even spell check can not be found on this word.

Should Eben not come right with these guys, then we will all hang our VW badges upside down, Being an international mark of contempt.

May I just remind you that, VWSA not only feed us when in Uitenhage, but also have a Permanent staff member take photo's of us, in the car park with Logo Flag flying, (see thread http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopi ... =7&t=24984 ), and then give us a full page exposure in the internal News Paper.

As some one that has a lot to do with firms that supply VW, I will get personal involved with guys like John Lemon, and arrange a meeting with their head, David Powels.

Lets not judge the whole crate, for the actions of a few rotten apples.

Please keep us informed, EBEN.

Herman

[Tony Z]

Trademark Act:

PART VIII
INFRINGEMENT

33.

Registration a condition precedent to an action for infringement.

No person shall be entitled to institute any proceedings under section 34 in
relation to a trade mark not registered under this Act: Provided that nothing in
this Act shall affect the rights of any person, at common law, to bring any
action against any other person.

34.

Infringement of registered trade mark.

(1)

(2)

The rights acquired by registration of a trade mark shall be infringed
by—

(a)

the unauthorized use in the course of trade in relation to goods
or services in respect of which the trade mark is registered, of
an identical mark or of a mark so nearly resembling it as to be
likely to deceive or cause confusion;

(b)

the unauthorized use of a mark which is identical or similar to
the trade mark registered, in the course of trade in relation to
goods or services which are so similar to the goods or services
in respect of which the trade mark is registered, that in such
use there exists the likelihood of deception or confusion;

(c)

the unauthorized use in the course of trade in relation to any
goods or services of a mark which is identical or similar to a
trade mark registered, if such trade mark is well known in the
Republic and the use of the said mark would be likely to take
unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to, the distinctive
character or the repute of the registered trade mark,
notwithstanding the absence of confusion or deception:
Provided that the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to
a trade mark referred to in section 70 (2).

I think the key words are those I just highlighted in RED

ACVWSA as such does not trade goods or services.
It can be argued that ACVWSA is a social network (maybe we can add this to our title description).

But as Herman said, they published the logo in their internal magazine. If that was OK, then we surely already have permission as they were willing to use our logo for self promotion.

[oldschoolgp]

My gues regarding this is ........they could be kicking themselves for not thinking about this first .........

Imagine the amount of bad publicity we could make for them by sticking together on this issue

They would see a new hippie revolution .......

[splitbusahollic]

I tend to agree with Herman. let's not overreact.
i personally think to arrange a meeting with some of the top brass of VWSA would be a fantastic idea in order to state our case and explain a little what we are about.
i bet the person that wrote the letter in the first place ..be it a lawyer or clerk doesn't know the first thing about us or what we do...all they saw was a badge that resembles a company that doesn't want it's stuff misrepresented. fair enough.
over and above that i think a petition signed by each and every member and some lurkers on the forum would carry tremendous weight. some representation from a Guy like John would also not be scuffed at. Dolf Jonker , someone who actually deals with the top brass at VW and is a member of this forum would be a great representative in this instance as well.
i think once it gets understood how many actual followers there is on our forum, the negative publicity that could arise from this may be unwanted by a solid, age old South African brand name like Volkswagen South Africa.
and i am almost 100% certain that if the MD or some other senior personnel get to know the ins and outs of this story it will be sorted out as fast as it started.
i do still have my copy of the internal news letter with our pic's in it.
it is normal to react in anger....but first get all the facts before shouting !!

[eben]

May I just remind you that, VWSA not only feed us when in Uitenhage, but also have a Permanent staff member take photo's of us, in the car park with Logo Flag flying, (see thread), and then give us a full page exposure in the internal News Paper.

Does someone have a copy/image of that article?

[eben]

I'm waiting for the lawyer or his assistant to respond. So far nothing...

[splitbusahollic]

Does someone have a copy/image of that article?

i do indeed Eben. here is the link...
http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopi ... =7&t=24984

i also posted some of it on here.
maybe you should add the word "vintage" to the whole ting.....end of story ! aircooled vintage volkswagen south africa !

[eben]

Thanks. I missed those.

[riaanj]

I can't see the image, but I've seen these sorts of corporate bully letters before.

Personally, I wouldn't even bother to respond unless they issue summons. Just a gang of thieving lawyers trying to jusify their huge corporate retainers.

They don't own the term aircooledvwsa. They don't have the right to regulate anyone's use of their name for identification purposes. They cannot reasonably argue that anyone, except some dumb-ass parasite lawyer, would confuse this site with VWSA or any other VW brand or copyright or IP.

I would be very happy to participate in a campaign where we remove all VW emblems from our cars in protest. Bus drivers could go further by fitting the VW emblem upside down.

My personal response to VW and their parasitic lawyers: go fcuk yourselves! Is this how you treat enthusiasts who keep old Volkswagens on the road and help build your brand's reputation for reliability and longevity? Enthusiasts who keep these cars on the road with zero support from VW; just this kind of hindrance.

If you gang of parasites wants us to stop using the aircooledvwsa name, then make an offer and buy it so you own it and then you can do as you please, including shutting the site down. I am sure Eben would be open to seven-figure offers.

A BIG + 1 on this Fig

Its because of VW SA that I will never again buy any new VW from them- I will be buying Japanese, or other German marks.... they are SO out of touch with what their PAYING customers want, it actually hurts !!! Even though I know lots of people who are VW fanatics, for their newer waterpumpers, and all of them really REALLY wants SA to have a 2 door Gti - noooooo !! They have been giving us stupid 4 door models since, well, the begining of Gti in SA, claiming market research shows people prefer 4 doors bla bla bla wara wara etc - they are so out of touch !

Judging by that stupid email from a stupid lawyer(liar) person I feel vindicated !

That is soooooooo true, they don't even try to listen to their customers' needs, and don't let us get started on their service departments!

They would see a new hippie revolution .......

That would be the ULTIMATE

[calooker]

There is a trend of VW doing this world wide, in the US companies are forced to change names / logos or face legal action. You will no longer find a site showing a VW logo not even when advertising a hub cap, and if they sell anything with a VW logo ie. hub caps, royalties need to be paid, as an example a hub cap now costs 3X more than what it did a few years back and the same goes for anything with VW on it, many have stoped selling anything with the logo on.
I know first hand of this, Greg Modelmog who owns (formaly) VWparts.net was forced to change to Piersideparts.net due to these issues, WTF they had been trading for some 32 years until last year when VW started putting pressure on, he is not allowed to advertise or put up anything with a VW logo.
I think bottom line is money, the attitude is fall in line with the bulling or pay up.

[Golfmad]

Personally, I think "volkswagen" needs to change their name now - perhaps "FOKSWAGEN" or something sinister, because they are not even close to being volks wagens anymore, nowadays it JUST a money making business, out to get MORE billions if not trillions of dollahs ! Because they are now considered to be the biggest vehicle manufacturing company in the world (VAG) they can do as they please, and they do just that including a lot of bullying !

I for one will shed no long tears if I never buy a new VW ever again... besides, quality is also something lacking these days, but if you look at Hyundai how they have seriously improved their quality, and if one has to buy a new car with your head and not your emotions, VW falls badly short.... Value for money - long gone !