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Have You Driven Ford Mad Lately?

© Dale Hartley

Robert Lane collects Mustangs. In February of last year, Lane established a website, fordworldnews.com, devoted to his favorite car.

Ford contacted Lane and insisted that he change the name. He did. His new website is blueovalnews.com.

Not long after his site was established, Lane reportedly began receiving complaints from other Mustang owners. Ford engineers delivered copyrighted, internal documents to Lane, documenting assembly-related problems, results of environmental testing, and photos of products in development.

So Lane posted the documents on his website. He contends it's his first amendment right to do so. His intention, Lane has said, was to alert consumers to facts necessary for making an informed buying decision.

Enter Ford's attorneys...again. The automaker informed Lane that his publication of internal documents violated the company's copyright on the information. Ford demanded that Lane remove the secret data from his site, and this time he refused to give in to the lawyers' demands.

Ford contends that this is not a first amendment issue, but rather a copyright law dispute. A company spokesperson is quoted by the Associated Press as saying that Lane tried to sell the protected documents via the internet. The company also alleges that Lane solicited its employees to leak the company's secrets.

On Thursday, August 26th, Ford obtained an emegency temporary restraining order requiring Lane to remove all copyrighted material from his site as well as the trademarked Ford logo. The court further ordered Lane to disclose within 10 days the sources who provided the confidential information.

The temporary restraining order is in effect until Monday, August 30th, when a hearing will be held to determine whether a permanent injunction against Lane is warranted. Meanwhile, Lane has removed the questionable content, but is shopping for a lawyer. If the lawyer advises Lane that he's entitled to publish the documents, he says they'll be back online pronto.

For more information...read up on the fair use doctrine of copyright law; or visit consumer protest sites critical of Ford at Consumerama.

The copyright of the article Have You Driven Ford Mad Lately? in Consumer Advocacy is owned by Dale Hartley. Permission to republish Have You Driven Ford Mad Lately? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.