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It
took three years and 1.3 million dollars in legal fees before it was
over. The case was finally resolved Feb. 11, 2002 in Boston
Federal court. The lawsuit was very complex and involved, with
issues and facts that are better addressed in a book (it's in the
works), rather than a newsletter. The bottom line is that it's all
over!
The result was that Factory Five Racing
kept the rights to make the shape of the car (including the Coupe and
other designs), whereas Shelby and Ford kept the names (Cobra, 427, S/C
etc). Both sides absorbed their own legal expenses and we all went
our separate ways. We used to refer to our car as a Cobra Replica
(like the rest of the planet earth). as a result of our agree ment,
we are now referring to our kit as the 65 Roadster. We also just
launched the Mark II version, which we're just calling the Mark II
roadster. Design-wise, it's the same kit.
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Behind the scenes we really felt that the
names Cobra and 427 SC had become so generic over the years (with the
proliferation of thousands of Cobra replicas) that there was little
specific value in having to continue to fight for them. Moreover,
we felt that despite claims by Ford or Shelby, the words are a small
part of what has become an entire genre of American hot rods. The
versions and styles of Cobra replicas are similar to the penomenon of
street rods that replicate '32 Ford roadsters. Today, no single
car maker or model can readily be identified as the definitive source of
the product. Even Shelby American sells a kit that is manufactured
by another kit car company (kirkham manufacturing has made their
aluminum bodied kits for some time).
As it stands now, Shelby can never again
contest our rights to produce the car kits. Shelby had originally
sought 10 million dollars in damages from us and wanted the destruction
of the tooling and molds used to build the Factory Five kits.
Shelby said previously, in an interview with Automobile magazine's David
E. Davis, that he would also seek $10,000 per vehicle from owners of all
replicas (not just FFR). That is all over now, at least for
Factory Five Racing. As of June 2002, Shelby is still pursuing
similar legal action vs. Superformance. This is a losing fight for
old Shel and we hope he realizes it soon.
With a clear path to the future, we want
to thank personally the people who helped us make this effort
tremendously successful. While we were forced to defend our rights
in court, we still wish Mr. Shelby the best and hope that in time he
comes to embrace and recognize the valuable and inextricable part that
replicas have played in the Cobra story. |