WARNING!

[Ben]

Word has it that the lawyers are out scouting the forums and groups trying to find anyone producing parts or products without their permission. This company licenses all kinds of toys, clothing and everything else so it must be all about the money! Even though anyone that has ever produced replicas of their products barely break even on the molding and casting supplies. It makes me sick that they have nothing better to do than attack the little guy with this ....

[cowboysevens]

you would think they would be happy to see that there motors were in our biulds, if not for the pride of it then for the advertisement from it. if they have to much to say about it we can all pull our motors and send them to the head "cat house" along with pictures of our new shiny cummins and detroits! lol

dennis

[Ben]

you would think they would be happy to see that there motors were in our biulds, if not for the pride of it then for the advertisement from it. if they have to much to say about it we can all pull our motors and send them to the head "cat house" along with pictures of our new shiny cummins and detroits! lol

dennis

Yep! Used to be my favorite engine and heavy equipment manufacturer but after hearing about the greed and the bullying tactics of their lawyers, I wouldn't recommend their products to anyone anymore!!!!!

[Ben]

you would think they would be happy to see that there motors were in our biulds, if not for the pride of it then for the advertisement from it. if they have to much to say about it we can all pull our motors and send them to the head "kitty house" along with pictures of our new shiny cummins and detroits! lol

dennis

[Foxer]

I guess they don't turn into butterflys anymore as they come out the door.

[Bryan H]

A quick Google search turned up stories of many hobby-related products getting visits from the "Fun Police". General Motors had problems with video game producers using GM cars in their games. Union Pacific railroad had problems with model railroad producers using the UP livery. I found several others as well. I was heartened to read that Union Pacific eventually agreed to a no-cost settlement for use of their trademark though.

Bryan

[Jim B]

I know that armor & aircraft modelers have been dreeding this for years, and I'm sure that their turn will come.

They-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named are very protective of their copyright. More so than other companies. I have a friend who is a lawyer in DC (imagine that, a lawyer in DC). Anyway, one of is first jobs out of law school was to ensure that the copyright of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was not infringed upon. Particularly in South America, because he speeks Spanish. He is quite well off!

[Pete1980]

OMG that is rediculous!!! For some guy behind a desk to go"Hey, you guy there building a model of a motor that we put in our real vehicles you cant make a scale vesion of that to put in your model to display proudly so that when sombody says "hey nice truck what kind of motor" you say .....

They should be proud people want to build scale versions of there motors...

My 2 Cents

[Jim B]

Oh, they are very proud of their product & logo. They probably love to see it out there. It's just going to cost you about $5000 to do it legaly.

[bitner]

In addition to building trucks and cars I'm also a model railroader. I remember about 5 years ago when "Uncle Pete", or Union Pacific got on their high horse about model railroad manufacturers using their company logo after 50 years. They started suing people for really ridiculous reasons and it turned out to be a publicity nightmare. If I remember right just about every model railroad magazine and some railroad magazines ran tons of articles critical to what UP was doing. They finally pulled their head out of their a** and figured out it was a stupid idea. I got rid of all my UP stuff and didn't run anything of theirs for a number of years until they dropped the BS. Maybe this manufacturer will see the light and do the same.

Cheers:

Bill

Edited May 17, 2010 by bitner

[old-hermit]

You can thank the head honchos at Harley Davidson for all the copyright infringement broohaha.

When Willie G and his crew started copyrighting everything from ape hangers to the sound a Harley makes and sueing anybody who even had a bar & shield in their advertisements without permission, everybody looked around and said "hey, if they can make money like that, so can we". Next thing ya know the model companies are getting nailed with fees to use a brand name on any piece in their kits. I'm not saying it's OK to copy anything without the owners permission but having to pay a users fee is getting a bit ridiculous.

[cowboysevens]

i think maybe ill just get some decals that say CUMMINS POWER and put another right under it sayin here kitty kitty!! lol i guess we can just buy a bunch of the revell pete cheep kits, they come with cat motors. if they get to serious with this thing i just might have to denounce them all together!! that would suck cause ive always been a cat man. but then again they claim to be tha american muscle in diesel engines but yet they by mitsubishi small tractors and lifts and put there name on it??? HEY CAT HOUSE DONT GET TO PROUD!!

dennis

[Wagoneer81]

Cowboysevens may be on to something there... it'd be a shame for us to pull the C** motors out of our models, replace them with Cummins or Detroits and mail the C** parts to C** headquarters with a note that says something like, "Since you don't want anyone using your name, we won't. I'm going to build with Cummins instead. They aren't Microcephalitic Greed-Bags suffering from an acute case Rectal/Cranial Impaction." I understand what copyrights are about and for but this sometimes goes too far. This is one of those times.

Bitner, I remember the UP fiasco. They were definitely out for blood for a while and accomplished nothing more than shooting themselves in the collective foot. I can see needing to get permission to use a name for something like an engine or a brand name of tire but to say you have to pay thousands for the rights for something that a caster might only make hundreds on with or without the name?... Way to lose on some good advertising chances and to alienate the buying public. I guess if one doesn't have the means to replace the C** engines, there's always curbside... I have Four models of C** equipped trucks I'm considering re-powering...

It's like not even being able to use the term "Super Bowl" in a advertisement, you have to say, "The Big Game" because "Super Bowl" is a copyrighted name... Kind of an Orwellian age we live in, don't you think? I'd better be careful what I say, Big Corporations and Big Brother may be watching...

Edited May 18, 2010 by Wagoneer81

[Tony Bryan]

Oh Dear, you guys may need to review what you are saying here before you make a comment,

CAT is not the only company that protects there copyright, but what right do you have to use there name without paying for that privilage? and we are talking about making something like a engine, casting it and yourself making money here, NOT a one off for your use, this is not an issue with CAT, but making money with there name is

And a good example of this was Howard at KFS, when he produced a scale 1/24th excavator with out consultation with CAT, just made it, and sold it with there logo on it as a CAT product, he was fined $20K GBP for this, and I think it is justified as well, if you had a product, or logo, and someone else made money off it, would you persue them, or would you just say, that's ok?????

Now with the States as the leader in the world of Sueing people, now everyone wants to complain about it,

The thing that I can't agree with is the cheap Chineese toys that CAT put there name on, but would you buy a grader, dozer, truck, without the CAT logo or an unbranded construction diecast model? nah I didn't think so and just think, someone had to pay to put that logo on for you,

CAT is a over rated product, and with thier parts also being made in china,with chineese steel is it really that American now like it was 40 years ago?

A Komatsu will out dig a Cat in solid rock, all day long, and has more features for final trim than a CAT, maybe the world has woken up to CAT, and the way they do business, CAT, not the product it use to be

[Jim B]

Tony,

I couldn't agree more, and I think that any company (or person) has the right to defend their work & ideas. I din't know that Howard got wacked for £20K. That's a little harsh.

Is Australia as "sue happy" as the US? It's ridiculous over here.

[Madd Trucker]

I agree we should be allowed to use the engine and unfortunitly most companies now have out sorced thier products to the chineese which takes jobs from the US . I dont know if any rember the out cry when DOD wanted royalites to all military kits made and started demands on the model companies Congress stepped in and said they couldnt collect royalties cause the tax payer owned themas we all paid for what equipment the military uses

[falcongeorge]

I guess we can pretty much count on the AMT kit NEVER being re-issued now. Mine just went up in value! Guess if I put it on ebay, I had better be careful how I word the ad!

[Jim B]

What AMT kit?

[TUFF TIN]

I have been looking at this for a few years with Ford going after the after market hot rod parts suppliers.

In my opinion, Cat, Cummins, Ford or Joe Blow should become a dealer and offer the products named after them in their parts rooms. It is great advertizing.

Mike

[Wagoneer81]

I'd better be careful what I say, Big Corporations and Big Brother may be watching...

Carefull Chris I think "Big Brother" has been copyrighted by the goverment

Bottom line is that Tony has nailed it on the head.

Let's move on with model building, I've got a Cat v-8 to install.

Leo

[Nick Winter]

So I can't say that my W900 has a Catapillar 3406 Diesel, (Actually I don't think I spelt it right anyway)

Edited May 18, 2010 by Dukefan69'

[cowboysevens]

i agree with the right to thier own name, but ya know the 2 or three guys that do offer a recast of cat motors only make a few bucks , if that they probly like the rest of us biulders and enjoy contributing and keeping model trucks alive. how much would it cost for cat to advertise at a truck show, then how much would they pay to have some model trucks biult with thier engines in them to show off at displays, parts counters and what have you? i think they should come to the table with that in mind, heck look at tims trucks and when he goes to denton to show. when somebody walks up and is admiring one of his biulds im sure more than one trucker has ordered a truck with matching specs cause it looked so good. maybe they could put stipulations down, but there is no money their for them unless it comes out of the biulders pocket. lol they look great in our models but the fact of the matter is they dont run, and 99% of us dont make any money with our biulds , however cat, cummins, detroit and what not do recieve free advertisement in a great way. ill probly always have cat motors in my trucks , i just hope they dont get to seriuos with this cause it will leave a bad taste in my mouth.

dennis

[Nick Winter]

Yes Nick you can say your W-900 has a Caterpillar<-----(correct spelling). Revell monagram already has bought rights to use the name and product design.

What you can't do is replicate something that is trademarked by a company and then profiting off the product name or design, even if it's in 1/25th scale with out getting permission to use said product name or product design..

Even things such as photo etch badges would fall under trademark laws.

If it's in a kit it already has recieved permission to use the names of said product, you'll see a disclaimer on the sides of the box usually.

Oh ok.

[highway]

CAT is a over rated product, and with thier parts also being made in china,with chineese steel is it really that American now like it was 40 years ago?

A Komatsu will out dig a Cat in solid rock, all day long, and has more features for final trim than a CAT, maybe the world has woken up to CAT, and the way they do business, CAT, not the product it use to be

In the world of truck engines, give me and old clattering DETROIT any day!! I drove for one of the big trucking firms that have two tone blue trucks and the name kinda sounds like "wenie", and my Freightliner Classic XL with a 470 HP Detroit Series 60 would outpull any of the Peterbilt 379's running a 550 HP (if I remember correctly) Kitty Cat any day! My Freightshaker made those yellow bellied Petes GREEN with envy!! Plus, what we are all forgetting, CAT doesn't even have a truck diesel anymore, they can't make one clean enough to meet the new on road emmisions standards.

By the way, Jim, I would assume the AMT kit falcongeorge was referring to was the CAT D-8 Dozer, and it was reissued the last time in around 2002-2004, falcongeorge. The kicker of that, that issue in the blue (I think) box HAS NO CAT MARKING DECALS!!! The only way to get the decals is to get one of the earlier issues where it is actually marked as a CAT D-8 on the box. The no CAT markings in the latest issue is why I never bought one!!! I have wanted to build a Mack pulling a lowboy with the D-8 on the deck since I was a kid, I had the original D-8 and lowboy, but no Mack. I lost the originals in a house fire in 1997, I now have the Mack and lowboy, but no dozer because I refused to buy the reissue I mentioned solely because there were no CAT decals!

[Chuck Most]

It is kind of funny to me, they won't let their precious name be used on a model kit, yet they slather it all over the worst, most poorly made workboots you can buy! Hope they go bankrupt... (And I don't mean the 'good' kind of bankrupt, like GM. )