Thse of you sealling PT Cruiser Items...BEWARE !!

[Marc]

Sorry about the title. It was to say: Those of you selling PT Cruiser Items...BEWARE !!
I tried deleting it and rposting with the propper spelling but IT Did not let me delete it. (I get that all the time)


This is really frustrating me a whole lot.
I am NOT selling any PT Cruiser Items (other than the Rear Hatch Graphics..done with images of people's OWN Cruisers).

A Head's up. They will come after you.
I got an email earlier today from this guy asking me if I was selling "PT Cruiser" t-shirts to a certain individual that sells them on a Web Site. I told him "No" then asked him "Why? Is there a Problem"?

This is what he replied.....

Marc,

(name Removed to protect identity) will need to take a license in order to sell these t-shirts. Any
merchandise that is sold to consumers using images or likeness of PT Cruiser,
including the word PT Cruiser must be licensed. Otherwise, (Name Removed to protect Identity) is infringing
on DaimlerChrysler. Let me know if you have any other questions.

James Slifer
The Joester Loria Group
Director, Sales/Account Management
419 Park Ave
Suite 703
New York, NY 10016

212 683-8548

Now, I know what is happening here. This was brought up last year and it raised a BIG Stink. I have a pretty good idea who is behind this latest tactic. Just look around and see who is allowed to sell these "PT Cruiser" items without being hassled and you will find the answer.
I am not pointing my fingers at anyone...just an assumption on my part..and I would say, a pretty FAIR assumption.

[InfernoRed]

Actually I am surprised this has not occured already in a serious way.Lemme explain from a slightly different marketing item......

I am a huge model building fan.Especially of a certain american Sci Fi show(been around since the 60's with 10 movies and 4 spin off series-----oughta limit it down eh?).ANYWAYS.....there has been overall a very limited number of copyrighted models of any of the series vessels sold to the public throughout the years......all though they sold what few they did produce for many years.

Many small companies cropped up(referred to as Garage Kit Industries) to fill the void and offer many of this series most sought after vessels...and to provide corrected parts and portions for the existing marketed kits so one could produce a model better representing the movie filming miniatures.This has led to MANY what are called CD letters.....Cease and Desist...being sent directly from Paramount's(in this case)legal offices to the "offending" Garage Kit Manufacturer.There are way around this....and many Garage Kit Manufactures still are in buisness.Basically.....this means that they cannot market any vessel models under the actual name of the series.....or an actual vessel used or under an actual vessel class......these are referred to as "cannon" subjects actually seen on screen.HOWEVER..."non-cannon" designs that have never been seen on screen BUT obviously are based on vessels seen cannot be assulted.

Basically.......PT Cruiser,Chrysler,Daimler-Chrysler and any image of the PT being used for marketing and profit purposes where Daimler-Chrysler doesn't get some of the fee in say a royalty or contract or licensed obligation...or atleast you have at a minimum,written permission.....is illegal.Sad but true.It all boils down to how much of an impact Daimler-Chrysler's lawyers feel a person's small buisness can impact on Daimler's either EXISTING or POTENTIAL marketing of PT items.

InfernoRed

[jpscruiser]

Originally posted by Marc
James Slifer
The Joester Loria Group

What exactly is the Joester Loria Group and how in the heck did they come about contacting you Marc??

I don't recall you saying anything on PTE about selling any PT items. This could be a problem for a bunch of folks.

[Marc]

To answer your questions:
!) how did they contact me/
They did some research, went on to some "Club" site (different Clubs), probably saw my name, or someone mentioned my name, so he started asking around different folks if they knew where they can get a hold of me. A friend who posts on here, sent me an email yesterday telling me that they thought this guy was looking for me cause he asked them "if they knew where they can find a Marc St. John". They didn't even get my name right. They then asked my friend that if they knew where I was, to tell me to contact them by either phone or email. I had no idea what they wanted so I wrote this Jim person late last night saying "I'm Marc. what can I do for you?". and he wrote me two emails. First one asked me if I sold any t-shirts to a certain group. i said NO...WHY?
the second, I posted in this thread above....

2) At one point in time, I sold Third Brake light Cling (Cling-Ons I called them) that had the words PT Cruiser on it. Other than 2 other groups selling them, I was the First to come up with the Cling. I did good at first but then, everyone and their brothers started selling them..so I let it go. Other than the Graphics i do for people's Rear Hatch Graphics, which includes images of their Own Cruisers, I do not sell any other PT Related things. Once in a while, I'll find a RARE PT Die Cast and I will ocasionally sell one on Ebay. Nothing illegal there.

What these folks are after now is to stop EVERYONE from selling items that have an image of a Cruiser ot the words PT Cruiser...including EVENT T-shirts.

This really Blows Big Time..

Yes, there are many folks who are selling PT Related items and many of them will be pissed off. There are some folks out there that want to see the little guy take a dive so that they can prosper themselves by eliminating the competition. This is their way of doing it....

Originally posted by jpscruiser



What exactly is the Joester Loria Group and how in the heck did they come about contacting you Marc??

I don't recall you saying anything on PTE about selling any PT items. This could be a problem for a bunch of folks.

[PT_TAZ]

So, obviously Daimler Chrysler believes that "name Removed to protect identity" must be making the billions of dollars they need to restore the company to respectability. NOT! Why hassle the little guys? That's just wrong!

[Marc]

I can tell you that ("name removed to protect identity") is NOT making a million. This person is doing good and is a very nice person, but ("name removed to protect identity") is not a BIG Player. I would consider this person a "little guy".
Do you think Chrysler makes enough $$ selling Cars? Now they have to come after the little guy to make another dollar or two....

GREED is such a NASTY thing isn't it !!!

Originally posted by PT_TAZ
So, obviously Daimler Chrysler believes that "name Removed to protect identity" must be making the billions of dollars they need to restore the company to respectability. NOT! Why hassle the little guys? That's just wrong!

[Cruisin' in Calgary]

I'm very familiar with this whole thing. I threw in my $0.02 at the time, got banned, had fun, made sure I got the inside info on what was going on.

If ANYONE tries coming after me on my not-for-profit activities, I am sooooo ready!!!

[Comedy Cruiser]

Anyway we can make a totally futile and wasted effort to protest?...send a message or something? Maybe quit driving our PTs for a day or two...jump into an Aztek, that'll piss them off!

[Marc]

That's a good idea...t
Let's rent an Aztek for a few week.
Speaking of Azteks, I bet you PONTIAC would not interfere with the little guys creating items from the Aztek.............


By the way, the guy who contacted me has a web page:

http://www.joesterloriagroup.com/

Originally posted by Nickel City PT
Anyway we can make a totally futile and wasted effort to protest?...send a message or something? Maybe quit driving our PTs for a day or two...jump into an Aztek, that'll piss them off!

[Sci-Fi]

Looks like they are doing the job they are contracted to do. Not saying it is right or wrong, but many companies are protective of their copyrights and trademarks. How active they are in enforcing it depends on the company. From their website:

Licensing: The process of leasing a legally protected (that is, trademarked or copyrighted) entity known as property. Property can be a name, likeness, logo, graphic, saying, signature, character or a combination of several of these elements, in conjunction with a product or a product line. While a property can also be licensed for many non-product purposes, such as for a promotion or a service, we will focus here on merchandise licensing.

Licensor: The owner or agent of the property, also known as the renter of the rights

Licensee: The business entity that has acquired the contractual rights to use the property. This is usually a manufacturer. On occasion, it is a retailer.

Licensing Contract: Licensing is usually based on a contractual agreement between two business entities: the licensor and the licensee. The formal permission to use the owner's property is subject to certain terms and conditions, such as a specific scope of rights, a defined geographic area, and a finite time period. Contracts typically include financial remuneration to the licensor.

Royalty: The basic component of financial remuneration paid by the licensee to the licensor. This is a percentage of the licensee's sales (typically wholesale) of products that are granted in the scope of rights. In addition to that, a guaranteed minimum royalty, the guarantee, is usually required. The licensee has to pay this guarantee irrespective of whether the license results in sales of the products allowed under the contract. A percentage of this guarantee is normally paid as an advance.

Owners of established trademarks and copyrights utilize intellectual property licensing as a cost-effective means of promoting, protecting and generating revenue returns from these assets. It is the popularity and familiarity of these marks that help otherwise generic products to stand out from the crowd.

The rationale for the licensor to license a product is linked to brand extension and the enhancement of brand image and goodwill at a consumer level without having to develop, produce, or market a new product. Furthermore, the licensor receives legal protection, since licensing a brand for use in certain product categories prevents potential competitors from legally using the brand name to enter those categories.

The economic advantage for the licensor lies within the profits from royalty payments. A company receives from the licensee an average royalty payment of about 5 percent of the wholesale price of each sold product. Due to the fact that there are no manufacturing or marketing costs, these revenues translate directly to profits.