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I have no idea where the people who suggested the costs got their figures but it looks like the losing money rumor assumes that the UP would not have protected its trademarks in any case and requires the model railroad licensing revenue to pay for the entire trademark protection effort. Look at it this way. Even if the UP decided to never charge a license fee they were going to protect the trademarks. If you don't believe that, go back and read the last 20 years of speeches given by the UP upper management. They are full of words like "franchise" and "brand name". This has been coming for years, its just never hit anybody's radar screen. The licensing program is about two years old and this thread popped like it was something new, months after the first threads appeared on these forums. The UP was going to protect its trademarks as a business decision regardless of the model railroad licensing issue. It has always been very concerned about the use of its logos. That means there is NO payback required, its a cost of doing business for UP. The UP already has a contracts and leases department. The railroads have been working for years to maximize the leases and licensing of its property. Billboards in the right of way, fiber optic cable, selling un-used property and right of way, auctioning off old equipment, etc. The contracts department is actively seeking new was to bring money to the bottom line (that's what the UP is, a business). So there is no additional cost to manage the logo licensing program. The people and processes are already there. What the "UP is losing money" arguement it boils down to is the model railroad community trying to convince themselves that this thing won't work and the UP can't afford it. Probably those same people using the same math predicted the UP would be out of business in 6 months back during the SP merger. In reality the costs are relatively minimal. That's what will doom any shareholder proposal to eliminate the licensing effort. The shareholders only care about the bottom line (if you are in a big pension fund or own a mutual fund that is in blue chip stocks, there is a good chance they have some UP, so its YOUR money too and that makes you one of the "greedy" people) and I doubt they will want to weaken the protection of an asset and eliminate something that is highly profitable just because you have to spend a few dollars more on a hobby. Smith
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