UP takes royalties from model mfg's for name use

Shoot I can recall when modelers was bashing SF for wanting to merge with the SP.Bashing railroads is not all that new it as only gain momentum though the use of computers and forums..

I suppose many modelers forget that railroads is a business and not being ran for our pleasure.I really don't think UP will listen to our outcry about that licensing fee as they see it as protecting their Corporation logos much like UPS,McDonald's,NASCAR,NFL,
NBL,NFL and any other corporation or sports team you can name or think of.We may not like it but there it is.:( As I like to say Corporate America as its best and let the public be d***.:(
Somebody on the Atlas forum mention boycotting the UP by not buying anything UP but we know who it will hurt in the end not the UP but the manufacturers of our models.As far as free advertising for the UP I don't know of any major shipper that doesn't know who or what the UP is..I am sure many shippers will readily recall the melt down the UP had when it merged with the SP and how NS/CSX came very close doing the same with the break up of Conrail.Free advertising? I think not.The railroads does a very good job at that without our help.Ask any shipper or receiver that ships or receives their goods by rail.

I will end my rant with that and let you draw your own conclusions least the moderators beat me over the head with their moderating clubs. :eek: :D
 
Hello everyone ....Good news for me , bad for you , I've just registered / patented / lawyered the words " locos " , " model railroads " , " gons ", " steam ", " brass " and " thomas " , "the " , "tank ", " engine " so send me all your money .Mail it in a plain brown wrapper to COBRA , CANADA . Ya ! Cobra
 
Originally posted by trainworm


btw, why does this topic keep coming up? it was first reported almost 6 months ago. isnt everyone tired of bashing the UP yet?
Click to expand...

Sorry didn't see a post regarding this subject before. Didn't mean to start an argument..tho I guess I should have known it would be controversial....I just saw it on the news and wondered about it.

Pardon my naivety :oops:
 
aartwmich,I don't see any harm in this topic even though it has made it rounds on every forum and more then likely more then once.:D I really don't see any bad behavior out of anybody that has replied to this topic not like I have seen on other forums that all manner of chaos has broken out during this discussion.
Speaking as a moderator on 2 other forums I am rather proud of the way this has been discuss. It speaks well for the quality of the members of this forum.:D Needless to say I am proud to be a member of this forum where things can be discuss without the fear of being flamed when one states his/her opinion.:thumb: :D
 
WHat bothers me about the moves by UP is not so much their desire to protect their tradmark (which is their right, same as any other company, be it large or small), but their insistence of including ALL the fallen-flag logos (the CNW and its merger partners, the MKT, the DRGW, the SP and Cotton Belt, the MP and its merger partners, and the WP and its subsidiaries), even though they haven't used the logos for years. They HAVE, owever, put MKT, MP, WP and SP reporting marks on some of their freight cars, so they may have a case to do so.

Personally I find that tactic low and money-grubbing, as the only people who are going to get nailde for royalties would be, say, those making models for the Chicago Great Western or Kansas, Oklahoma & Gulf, or even recent fallen flags like MP or WP (or T&P). THIS move is what I object to. I haven't seen a single CGW or KOG freight car on the nation's railroads in several decades. :curse: :curse: :curse:

Unfortunately, all you'll get from UP is the standard response- nothing meaningful.

And our refusal to run any UP models will do absolutely squat to the bottom line of UP, nor will it cause Dick Davidson or the stockholders sleepless nights. In my case, however, I may hold off buying any more UP models, but I'll keep what I have in service.
 
Uncle Pete strikes again

Unfortunately, the rumors are true. I just returned from my LHS and he told me that the hobby shop owners are fed up with it all. AND, it is not only Uncle Pete. The other RR's are coming on line but the most devestating of this is the RR's are not the only ones. NASCAR is in this up to their eyeballs. Every author of any decal that appears on a race car (model type) wants his "cut". Douglas/Fairchild wants fees anytime the words "A-10" or "Warthog" appear; ditto Boeing on their aircraft etc. etc. ad nauseum. My LHS owner told me that one shop has already closed because of this.

Supposedly, (no known proof) someone made a video of a model train crashing into a car at a crossing. The engines were logoed for UP and the company found out about it and came down with lawyers etc. to squelch this "Stain on the corporate legacy"... BS.. Trains don't crash into cars?? Especially in UP territory? The hell they don't.

Anyway, what's the solution? Perhaps, due to rising costs the manufacturers could punch out "undecorated" cars/locos and let the decal companies make up some ficticious names for those who have to have their trains decorated with something. Fortunately, my line does not have to worry about this. All of my cars were obtained by "other means" usually in the dead of night:D . By the following day, the cars have been repainted to "enhance and protect the company's reputation" (read Protection from prosecution) I know that this sounds silly to some but you have to realize that the only place these corporations are vulnerable is through their pocketbook. What do you think???
 
You asked, so I think your LHS is full of it and the alledged video is a story somebody made up and posted on another forum to stirr the smell back up. DIE THREAD DIE!!! The solution is the same as what's already going on, pay Pepsi, Coke, John Derre, etc. for their logos or don't use them. FRED
 
clearly I have too much time on my hands

UP =

Ugly Paintscheme
Un Prototypical
Utterly Pathetic
Uber Parasite
Under Pants
Unstable Platform
Ucky Poopoo
Unilateral Policy
Uncollected Payments

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

There's always the "parallel universe" RR: the mighty Onion Pacific.

Val
 
Guess I'll have to boycott Union Pacific. Let's see - last year how much did I spend to "Be Specific - Ship Union Pacific"? Oh, never mind.
 
You forgot
undelivered products,
unwashed pacifiers,
unwiped posterior,
unwelcome procrastination,
not to mention some others, but we need to keep this a family site.
:D FRED
 
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