UNION PACIFIC VS ATHEARN

[Anonymous]

I am glad to see Athearn settle the dispute with UP. I will not have any UP rolling stock on my pike.I may not hurt them very much in there bottom line but I am trying.[}:)]

[AntonioFP45]

I know that this has been a hot issue.

My attitude has always been that I like and admire the UP of the past (1940s - 1980s). Where innovations, inventions and good PR were the norm. This is why I still would like to have a couple of SD40-2s as UP was one of the roads that made the units famous.

UPs current management group will eventually fade in time. Hopefully the next generation of leaders, while profit oriented, will be more "PR" concious. Seems now that inspite of record profits, the current leadership has been doing a deplorable job with many customers as well.

[willy6]

After having this agenda discussed many times, I feel it's done, over with and let the sleeping dog..............................................................sleep!

[Anonymous]

Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[railman]

yes...we've taken this issue inside out and back again...amen!

[Anonymous]

This is the Fox in the henhouse issue that will bite the whole hobby community. An underperforming railroad is wasting corporate resources to extort money from the most pro railroad sector of the public. UP needs us and I for one will not be there. Besides, Staggers has been a disaster. Today's railroad industry is barely able to keep up with normal demand, what would happen if widespread flooding damaged large parts on the national system. the "lean-and-mean system would take weeks to recover and would drag down the whole economy with it. Those short lines that operate so much of today's system would be put right out of business. Today's class 1 executives don't know what's good for them.

[BRAKIE]

For those that say they will no longer buy UP engines or cars you are only hurting the manufacturers.Plus there are those that will continue to buy UP items.No my friends How about CSX and its falling flags? Then when BNSF,NS,KCS,CP CN and the short lines join the licensing parade then what? Are you going to stop buying everything?
Get a grip on life you been paying licensing fees for a long time..You have Ford or Chevy' on your layout? They're license product.Got a Kenworth truck on your layout? Yup its license..Nothing new here.Its best to move on to bigger and better things..
And no there is no railroads that needs us..After all to them we are just trespassing train buffs that should get a life.

[Anonymous]

I have no problem with UP licensing their logos etc. I do think that licensing the "fallen flags" is different though. UP's argument of protecting its image doesn't hold water with respect to DRGW and SP.

[Anonymous]

Brake, once a trademark has been left unprotected by its owner and is used for free, the owner loses the right to protect that trademark in that context. For instance, Otis Elevator made a form of moving staircase it called an Escalator. Other companies starting calling their moving staircases escalators and Otis did not protect their trademark. Result-- Otis lost when they subsequently tried to protect their trademark.
Union Pacific's claim is even weaker, because the use that they are trying to restrict is unrelated to their primary business which is providing transportation of bulk commodities by rail in the western United States. Union Pacific's position in this matter is morally unjustifiable, but the same old apologists for big business still crawl out of the woodwork to defend the indefensible. I make this prediction, If railroads aren't partially reregulated, they will be in as bad a shape sometime within the next 25 years as they were 25 years ago.

[BRAKIE]

John,I am wondering about cars still lettered for C&NW,SP,MP and CHTT without the UP sheild.These are active UP fallen flag cars.Of course TP and C&EI (MP) cars hasn't been around for years.There seems to be a loop hole as long as some fallen flag cars remain in service.

[Anonymous]

It just doesn't stop, does it? Let's get back to modeling. Licensing trademarks is nothing new. Enough.

[darth9x9]

We'll see how much of a price difference there will be between UP equipment and others. Or will Athearn spread the cost across all models? Time will tell.

BC