F1: Ferrari Versus Ford

Formula 1

F1: Ferrari Versus Ford – In Court

Ford Motor Co. has accused the Ferrari F1 team of trademark infringement with its use of the "F150" name...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted February 09, 2011 Balen (BEL)

Ferrari changed the name of its new car from F150 to F150th Italia after pressure from Ford. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Ford has taken legal action in Detroit, Mich., against Ferrari for using the F150 name on its new F1 car.

Ford is particularly irate over the existence of the www.ferrariF150.com website, and has accused the Italian company of both cybersquatting and trademark infringement, according to paperwork .

The court case appears to relate mainly to Ferrari’s use of and potential earnings from the F150 name in the United States, and given that there is no GP in the country, that might be hard to determine.

Ford claims it contacted Ferrari about the matter but did not get a "timely" reply.

A statement from Ford on Wednesday said: “F-150® is an established and important Ford trademark and the name of the best-seller in Ford’s F-Series, America’s best-selling trucks for 34 years and best-selling vehicles for 29 years. Through extensive sales and advertising and exclusive use, Ford has earned invaluable goodwill in the F-150® trademark. That hard-won goodwill is seriously threatened by Ferrari’s adoption of 'F150.'

“When Ferrari announced the name of its race car as 'F150,' Ford asked Ferrari to change the name. Ferrari did not respond in a timely manner, leaving Ford no choice but to take legal action to protect its important brand and trademark rights.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 26th season as a racing journalist in 2010. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’10. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Check out Adam's Blog or follow him on Twitter.