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Shelby American Issues Response to Inquiries Concerning Lawsuit

26 July 2000

Shelby American Issues Statement in Response to Inquiries Concerning Lawsuit Filed for Trademark Infringement

    LOS ANGELES - In response to inquiries concerning its recently filed 
trademark infringement lawsuit in Massachusetts Federal Court against Wareham-
based Factory Five Racing, Inc., Shelby American has issued a statement for 
interested parties.

    For many years, certain Cobra replica car manufacturers have been
violating Carroll Shelby's and Ford's trademark, trade dress and other
intellectual property rights.  Many have ignored all prior cease and desist
demands, and all attempts to reach a settlement have failed.

    The defense these replica manufacturers offer is that Shelby and Ford have
supposedly abandoned their rights.  However, Shelby and Ford have a federal
court judgment specifically stating that their rights to the Cobra trademark
have not been abandoned.  The law is clear.

    Shelby is now simply seeking the assistance of the courts to protect and
enforce his rights.  How else can one put a stop to those who continue to
willfully and knowingly violate, for profit, the trademark, trade dress and
other intellectual property rights that have been granted to Shelby and Ford,
by law?

    The suit charges Factory Five with unlawful use of Ford and Shelby
trademarks and other intellectual property rights.  Factory Five, a rapidly
growing, five year-old company, has manufactured and sold more than
1,000 counterfeit copies of the famous Shelby 427 S/C, according to the suit.

    The suit claims that Factory Five and others sell packages featuring
bodies that copy Shelby's famous roadster.  The companies then market their
packages as "faithful reproductions" of the 427 S/C while frequently marking
the cars with the Shelby(R), Cobra(R) and Ford(R) trademarks.  This
increasingly artful deception misrepresents a counterfeit as if it is an
original, the suit further states.