Union Pacific - The New Grinch

Ah, a facinating (though far too short) report on the CBS Evening News tonight, with little kids watching model trains with big eyes, and UP trying to explain how just putting their name (or the name of any of "dozens" of railroads they "bought... and closed down" !!!) is worth $3-7 per model more.

The Bad Press they thought would never happen has started... heh heh heh...

Reply to
Joe Ellis
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The CBS segment said nothing new at all. They showed some Coca Cola cars rolling by but did NOT mention any licensing agreements from Coke! While I give them credit for at least having a spokesman from both sides, CBS once again showed why FoxNews is kicking their butt in ratings for news shows.

--->Note that while CBS brought up Lionel et al. using UP's logos for free there was no mention of the lawsuits that CBS has filed against those doing the same with THEIR logo. LOL!

Kent in SD

Reply to
Two23

You mean nothing new TO US... but to those millions of non-model-railroaders out there, this is the FIRST they've heard of it, and it makes the UP look like they're keeping little kids from having trains for Christmas... NOT exactly the PR image they want, I guarantee you.

There's a significant difference though... when was the last time you saw a Coke car on a REAL railroad?

The ONLY way to avoid using UP and subsidiary road rolling stock _at_all_ is probably to model exclusively Maine 2 footers... or the Middle Earth RR.

Well, no argument there... so when is Fox going to do the story? Hmmmm?

Once again, though, that's apples and oranges. The CBS logo IS in current use. They're entitled to license it, and to prevent unauthorized use. For that matter, the UP is entitled to try to do the same with their current logo... though trying to change the long-standing existing relationship in such an arbitrary and one-sided manner is poor business practice... and there is no "value received" on the model end of the deal that I can see. I'd love to see the manufacturers turn around and refuse to DO UP schemes unless UP paid THEM... like the Santa Fe did for the old Lionel Super Chiefs. There's a good reason everyone in the country thinks of the Super Chief when they think passenger trains - SF paid Lionel to do them, and it was some of the best advertising they ever bought.

However, to claim rights to roads that no longer exist, and haven't for nearly 100 years... especially those that the UP themselves _abolished_... they're just plain greedy, and need to have their hands slapped and made to look foolish. Between the PTMO decision a couple of days ago and this report tonight, this seems to be exactly what is happening, and I for one WELCOME it!

... and it really makes no difference monitarily to me either way... I model my own road.

Reply to
Joe Ellis

Does Fox have a news show that goes against the CBS Evening News?

Reply to
Mark Mathu

Kent in SD asked us to:

Note that our man in SD makes no mention of the lawsuit that Fox News' filed in an attempt to stop the publication of a book because Fox' trademarked slogan "Fair & Balanced" appeared on the cover -- yet another frivolous lawsuit that was summarily thrown out of court.

LOL indeed . . . more like ROTFLMAO!

JR Hill

Reply to
Jim Hill

No, only one that goes against common sense and decency.

That _is_ Fox Spews you meant, right?

Reply to
Steve Caple

Maybe some firms should market locos and rolling stock lettered for Onion Pacific? :)

BB in Canada

Reply to
Railfan

Back in the 70's when Chessie tried the same thing, the manufacturers (led by Irv Athearn) just stopped making C&Q/Chessie models. The "hue & Cry" forced Chessie to back down. They dropped the "fee" idea, settling for just asking to be notified when a manufacturer introduced a C&O/Chessie model.

Unfortunately, today's liberal "feel good, don't offend anybody" manufacturers don't have the "balls" Irv and his ilk did.

Don

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Reply to
Trainman

Don,

The Chessie story has multiple threads and a 'gentlemans' agreement was reached with the help of several cooler heads in the model industry. Chessie got started on this when a tee-shirt with their trademarked 'Chessie' cat getting sexually 'violated' was being sold. The legal department went all out and suggested that they enforce all possible avenues to show that they were protecting their intellectual property. At no time do I remember a shortage of C&O/Chessie models and the entire issue was settled within about 6 months. At least that is the 'urban myth' I remember from the 70's.....And yes, I did see one of those 'off color' tee-shirts at a train show once....

Jim Bernier

Tra>

Reply to
Jim Bernier

Hey Railfan;

You have the best solution yet. I think that Onion Pacific has a real good ring to it. I wonder how long it would take UP to file a lawsuit to the effect that the Onion Pacific was actually an infringement and play on words that sounded similar to Union Pacific.

I may just model the OP as my home railroad empire. I can see it now. Big Grey nosed CP 40-2's with yellow trim! LOL

Have a good holiday season everyone, no matter how you may or may not celebrate it. See you down the OP Railroad!

Dan Harriman Orange, Texas

Railfan wrote in news:B0BEb.15661 $ snipped-for-privacy@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca:

Reply to
Dan

Since railroads aren't in the passenger business anymore, having their logo on model trains doesn't really increase their bottom line, so UP doesn't care. What UP fans need to do is write to some of UP's big customers & tell them they will boycott their products if they continue to ship via UP, until they no longer charge a fee to use their logo (registering to use it for a modest fee to cover administrative costs seems reasonable, though). Send a copy of the letter to UP. Then maybe the big customers will pressure them to drop the idea. UP will listen to them.

Reply to
Jerry Shickler

I feel sorry for all the younger and newbie modelers who will have to deal with this insanity in the coming years. It is a terrible thing that a few mean-spirited zealots and greedy individuals can cause this much trouble. It seems that we are destined to live in an era of terrorism of every conceivable kind, including cultural autolysis.

........F>

Reply to
Froggy

Thanks, Steve - took the words right out of my mouth :-).

Reply to
Larry Blanchard

Calling any corporation greedy for protecting their interests I think is a bit off the mark. Counterfeit and unlicensed goods can be detrimental to their reputation and I think they are perfectly right to take any means protect their image and profit from the image they have built. It's their logo. They built the identity. Why should they not benefit when the manufacturers using the image are intending to profit from it?

I would ask then if this were truly the case then why all of this discussion on the matter?

Reply to
wicate

Reply to
Jon Miller

: I feel sorry for all the younger and newbie modelers who will have to deal with this : insanity in the coming years. It is a terrible thing that a few mean-spirited zealots : and greedy individuals can cause this much trouble. It seems that we are destined to : live in an era of terrorism of every conceivable kind, including cultural autolysis. : : ........F>

Wow! Froggy, you taught me another new word...

autolysis - NOUN: The destruction of tissues or cells of an organism by the action of substances, such as enzymes, that are produced within the organism. Also called self-digestion

Happy Holidays,

Reply to
KTØT

l> >

As far as a "shortage" of models, I forget the exact year, but checking the Walthers catalog, there was a period there where C&O/Chessie models DID have much less representation than the year before of the year after.

Don

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Reply to
Trainman

Ah, but the very point with the fallen flag roads (which is what _I_ object to) is that it's NOT "their interests" at all... in fact, they've done almost everything they could to make the old roads disappear. Now, all of a sudden, they want money for use of those marks... whose protection long ago lapsed, and in many cases no vestige of the original road exists at all anymore, with the ROWs completely abandoned. _This_ is the greed I am citing.

Excuse me? COUNTERFEIT? I somehow doubt that the UP is going to lose much traffic to a model train pulled by Kato N scale SD90s... It's not a counterfiet, it's arguably _art_...

They built the _UP_ identity. THAT is their logo, and they're untitled to liscense it as they please. They did nothing for the SP, D&RGW, WP, or any of several dozen other roads.

Ummm... because they did everything they could to eradicate them?

Fine... show me how UP provides any value for a MoPac boxcar?

Reply to
Joe Ellis

Like a lot of so-called modellers these days.

Reply to
Mark Newton

What is the connection between UP's interests and model railroads? What protection do they need from HO boxcars?

The UP shield, yes. Other roads logos, no.

Only in the case of their own railroad. They did not build the identity of roads they acquired by merger.

Reply to
Mark Newton

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