VW said the creation infringed on multiple trademarks
- Cars & Bids auction of kei van halted over copyright flap
- VW felt the vehicle on offer infringed on its property
- Only a dingleberry would mistake this fun kei van for the real thing
Cars & Bids is a popular vehicle auction site based in America and known for attracting some quirky collector cars. In this instance, a seller from New Jersey offered up a Japanese-market 1998 Daihatsu Atrai van modified with a body kit styled to resemble an old-school VW Bus. Painted in a two-tone scheme with lines mirroring that of a Bus, along with a Volkswagen emblem the size of a dinner plate on its nose, the little Daihatsu did look marginally like the real thing – assuming the real thing had been washed on too hot a setting.
The stuck-up corporate behemoth that is Volkswagen apparently cried foul, siccing its legal dogs on Cars & Bids by delivering a cease-and-desist letter complaining of copyright infringement. While the auction site felt there was no merit to the claims, it did decide to cancel the listing to head off any potential issues in which the buyer or seller (and themselves, natch) might find themselves. VW has deep pockets, so this was likely a wise choice.
Interestingly, the seller chimed in after the sale was cancelled saying they were cool with auctioning this van without the enormous VW badge if that was the company’s problem, and instead including it separately as ‘memorabilia’. I mean, it’s not like the new owner wouldn’t immediately slap the badge back on the van, right? No, never.
For historical context, a similar conundrum reared its head when the Ford F-150 Raptor was first rolled out and owners of XLTs wanted to upgrade their truck’s grille to resemble that of the off-road beast. What some grille supplier would do is sell the grille with OOOO spelled out in removable plastic letters in its centre, then sell the letters ‘F’, ‘R’, and ‘D’ separately for a penny each. What customers did with those extra letters once they got them was up to themselves and certainly none of the seller’s concern.
But it wasn’t just the badge which got VW’s knickers in a knot. The unique style of two-tone also rankled, as did the way in which the bumpers were designed. Alas. Someone mentioned to us that only a dingleberry would mistake this fun kei van for a real VW Bus – but then it was realized we were talking about lawyers and suddenly everything became clear.
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