Volks,
If you try this URL quickly - before the next issue appears - you can find the complete article about Volkswagen's war on their friends. Try: http://www.spiegel.de/auto/aktuell/ and scroll down 'til you see a picture of a pre-68 Type 2. A major gripe is that, with their recently created "Classic Parts Center," the Volkswagen people are trying to monopolize sale of replacement parts for classics - but NOT offering original parts. An illustration shows a Chinese-made distributor cap complete with its Chinese logo, straight from an authentic "VW-Original-Ersatzteile" box. The "Classic Parts" are not replica parts . just aftermarket repair/replacement items fraudulently marketed as "factory originals." Nothing for us authenticity guys. There's no issue with VW-trademarked stuff: VW-logo hubcaps, trim items, etc., are clearly a factory monopoly, although they could be a helluva lot nicer about licensing quality replicas. This disagreement is over their claim to control their entire "image," including pictures, names, and even type faces (you can't publish the word "Volkswagen" using Memphis Bold type, although that's an openly available font!). The issue isn't whether they have a RIGHT to be nasty. It's whether they SHOULD be nasty to the very people who made them what they are today. Public relations should (IMHO) never be dominated by lawyers; Volkswagenwerk and VWoA should (again, my opinion) call off their attorneys and take a deep breath about "protecting their trademark." If they don't their trademark won't be worth protecting. And the judges who decided that an "iconic shape" or likeness could be protected as a trade mark should probably be recalled. But that's just me. Bert Knupp PS - Do we have a license to call ourselves "VintagVW"? The better question is: should that even be a valid question? -- Visit the VintagVW archives at http://mail-archive.com/[email protected] --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vintagvw. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
