Questions about branding, copyright, etc.

I have a question about a brand and I will use a big car name as my example.

I want to sell a particular brand as a retail business, call it FORD TRUCKS. Now there is already a Ford dealer in town, and Ford will not sell to me directly.

But I sell new cars, just not Ford yet, but I sell all other brands. I am concerned about loosing customers that need all kinds of things, like repairs and want to generally be better than the other guys in town.

I found a Huge Ford dealership, say down in Denver, who is willing to sell to me at 10% below what the neighboring Ford dealer is selling to be for.

I want to go down and buy the Ford's at 10% off, pay no tax (I just show my cert and since I am reselling retail, I can skip sales tax) and take the Trucks up to my lot and start selling them for the same thing as the neighboring Ford Dealer. I am not a Ford Dealer, but I sell New Fords.

Skip any warranty issues....Can Ford tell me to stop selling Fords (Can I sell anything I own or can the mfg stop me)...or can I sell Fords, but Ford can say that I cannot use Ford or their logo in any ads....or for that matter can Ford say that no one but dealers can use the word Ford referring to their Brand in any ads except the Dealers (in other words can Ford tell folks in want ads not to say Ford)?

Again, I want to sell Ford so that I sell all car brands and have the best selection for my customers, I am willing to make no $ selling Fords or even take a slight loss to be the one with everything!

Any words of wisdom? Oh and this thread does not have anything to do with conservatives occupying teabags full of liberals. Just laws and how they restrict freedom.

If you plan to use Ford as part of your trademark, then you are in trouble. If you plan to use Ford as part of describing your inventory, then probably ok.

Disclaimer: Not intended as legal advice, yada, yada, yada.

Ford distributes franchises according to territory and would probably sue you if you tried this. When the economy first tanked, Ford did buy/force some of their smaller dealers to shut down like Golden Ford.

But I did see something interesting a few years ago, when Chrysler PT Cruisers were in demand, John Elway Ford was selling them new on thier lots and didn't have to stop doing it. They were going for so much over dealer price that the other dealers must not have cared.

Posteryoyo:

I really thin the best advice anyone can give you is to consult with an attorney before you get into a bind, rather than afterwards, but I wish you good luck in your venture.

I'm taking this as hypothetical, so I will say this- as long as you are not using the brand name - for example, calling yourself "YoYO Ford" but including in your advertising the names of the brands you do sell, you should be just fine. Much as an individually owned store may sell many different brands of items, just not those exclusive to specific stores - like Kroger chips.

But honestly? It gets damn complex, and consulting an attorney who specializes in copyright law, especially corporate copyright, would be the best course before beginning any venture.