Sorry for the meaningless question.. but where can I find a quality set of floormats for my 328GTS (with a FERRARI-RACINGCREST or lettering). Any suggestions..? I ordered a set online thru Pelican/drivewerks and a few days later got this reply... ( yet the website still allows orders to be placed !! ) "Hello there. Due to copyright issues, we can't put "ferrari on floor mats. Please contact us so we can properly adjust your order." Thanks, The Pelican Parts Customer Service Team http://www.drivewerks.com/catalog/lloyds/floormats_start.htm Appreciate the feedback Patrick
Yes it's true, you can't put certain trademarks on custom floormats (Ferrari, Porsche, Coke, Pepsi, etc.). There have been many lawsuits over this in the past few years. The only ones who can do this are the dealers or "Authorized Licensees" of which I believe there are none. So the short answer is it can't be done. The long answer is that you may be able to find a pair on eBay that someone is making "illegally" or you can buy a plain set of mats and have them embroidered somewhere else separately. Individually customizing your mats is okay and legal (I believe), but us selling them to you that way is unfortunately not. Sorry, -Wayne 101 Projects for Your BMW 3-Series Coming 2004... 101 Projects for Your Porsche 911... Available Now! How to Rebuild & Modify Porsche 911 Engines Now Available!!!
Got mine from the Dutch ebay: http://cgi.ebay.nl/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2214102626&category=418
Indeed those are a nice set, but the prancing horse itself is a grey area. The original post mentioned the crest and the Ferrari logo, which are off limits to us commercial guys... -Wayne
I just got a set of black mats with the Ferrari shield for my 550 from European Floor Mats (http://europeancarparts.safeshopper.com/). They look pretty good and the cost was very reasonable. I think they will do the shields or the lettering. They were helpful and I had the mats within a couple of weeks. I contacted them as the result of a post by a fellow F-Chatter. Hope this helps....
Wayne, Thanks for the clarification. Totally understandable issue regarding the copyright. And to be Fair "Pelican Parts Customer Service" was prompt and DID NOT charge my credit card during my online order. I received two e-mails explaining the error and they confirmed the remaining items of my order. So... I cant complaing about a prompt response! They just need to update the website to reflect the change. Thanks again. Patrick
About a year ago, when this whole copyright thing came down on all the floor mat company's, FNA had many many many dealers going to bat for you guys to try to get the Factory to authorize one manufacturer. This was some of the last communication that I had had with FNA as a dealer, and I have not heard any positive news from anyone on this issue. Oh, and something else, FNA knew that they would have to be in the right price point if they were going to sell these.
http://www.worlduph.com/carpet.htm They have carpet sets for early cars right up to modern ones. Wilton wool or synthetic, with or without logos. Never delt with them but it is a start.
Check the archives in the old F-chat site. I mentioned a shop that can get them, (and there are others listed in the threads)...but most don't wish to be mentioned repeatedly in this forum...in case FNA is watching. So do the research, and call around...you CAN still get them... Dave
FNA sucks. I got a nice set for my 308 from Italian car parts. They were on the website. They only had the prancing horse, but looked great. I dont think the prancing horse is a grey area. My understanding is that a lawsuit was pursued many years ago that slapped down Ferraris claim to trademark on the prancing horse, one reason being that Porsche used the same image because it was the traditional image for Stuttgart and predates Ferrari by hundreds of years. Similar to a lawsuite I read about regarding McDonalds. Seems a guy opened a McDonalds resteraunt in Scottland and the big conglomerate was not pleased and filed suit. They lost. The guy was named McDonald. He could trace his family lineage back 1000 years. The court seem to think that pre-dated the 1950s US company...... (I got that story in an email, no idea on validity). Anyhow, If FNA is not going to license folks to make some good floormats, then why should they care if others do so. Why not be decent and lets lots of people license it? With all that FNA has done to fight euro imports (including lying to the EPA and DOT and in court) and all this trademark crap, dont they think the actual customers will eventually get sick of it? Terry
Terry, according to my source at all the different floor mat manufactures I deal with, it was not FNA or SpA. It was BMW. They are notorious on coming down on anyone that uses their trademark, and all these company's were using everyones. I was told they got sent a letter that suggested they stop making mats at once or otherwise others would follow suit(BMW lead). BTW--it seems like you know a bit about the EURO crap with FNA, but, look at it from their side as well. They will never get paid to "support" that car.....and yes, that is another whole thread topic..but, there are always two sides to every story.......
Porsche has trademarked the sillouette of the 911, and currently has a lawsuit pending against Lloyd mats regarding the embroidery of the model numbers on the mats. The problem with trademarks is that you *must* unilaterally enforce your trademark across the board with all infringers, otherwise, your legal arguments in court don't hold weight. This is a very lengthy and complicated issue... -Wayne
