Re: Cafe Press Items

Posted by BH On 2008/5/15 8:02:54

I'm confused.

I'd read long ago that Roy Gullickson purchased the Packard trademark rights from Packard Bayliff Coach of Lima, Ohio (who customized Cadillacs, plus Buick later on, with a Packard styling cues during the 1970s and 1980s) for his own attempted revival of the Packard? Motor Car Company. Did he sell those rights to PAC?

Meanwhile, I thought PAC's approval for use of the Packard trademark was merely a "courtesy license", but now it sounds like they're charging you a fee. Levying a fee like this when P'Info isn't selling anything here for profit comes across as very greedy. While it might be perfectly legal, that doesn't make it ethical. It makes me wonder if all Packard vendors (including Kanters) are paying this license fee.

I suppose PAC is just taking a cue from the Big Three, who started this scheme back in the 1980s when they couldn't profitably tap into a market segment, but realized that they could simply "tax" those who do (else, they sic'd the FBI on them). However, I will give the Big Three credit in that they give their licensees access to things like engineering drawings and tooling.

The situation in this case is a shame, really, because I think many people look to sites like this to get away from stale old clubs. I dropped my "subscription" to PAC years ago.