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I found this company using the name Pierce Arrow. Does that infringe on our rights?
Welcome to Pierce Arrow in Pawhuska, OK – Pierce Arrow, LLC (piercearrowok.com)
If you scroll down on the website they even admit they named their company after Pierce Arrow Motors and even have a snippet of PAMC advertising.
I would think this is a clear violation of the PAS copyright.
How does trademark square with the Pierce Arrow fire trucks that date back to the 1970’s?
Jim,
Pierce Mfg. (now owned by Oshkosh) that makes Pierce Firetrucks has been in business since 1913. Their trucks are branded Pierce although they do make an Arrow model. I’m not sure how that fits into the Pierce-Arrow trademark issue.
Dave
It would be interesting to hear from the legal guys on this. I believe that trademarks may be limited to items that are very similiar and not widely different. For example, “Citation” is a Cessna brand for their business jets that didn’t stop Chevy from naming a car that. I think there are other products that use the name. Likewise, “Challenger” is the name of Bombardier’s (nee Canadair) business jet and also Dodge’s muscle car.
Jim,
The original post has been forwarded to one of our legal guys.
Yes. We are now aware of this trademark matter and are discussing the potential impact of this particular use on the intellectual property rights acquired by the Pierce-Arrow Society over the years. “Pierce Arrow LLC” is a small business In Pawhuska, Oklahoma which started in 2018 and is a boutique that sells an assortment of clothing, jewelry, purses and other gift items. Apparently one of the owners found a hubcap with Pierce Arrow on it and like the name so much that she used that name for her company. That hubcap still hangs on the wall behind the cash register. It appears that none of the items offered for sale includes the words Pierce Arrow imprinted thereon, nor is the inventory specifically directed toward owners of either new or old vehicles. The name “Pierce Arrow LLC” has been registered with the Secretary of State in Oklahoma as a domestic limited liability company but most recently that registration has been listed as “inactive.” Marc and I will continue to monitor this matter.
The owner of Pierce Manufacturing, Doug Olgivie, was a PAS member for several years in the last century and had one of the cars. If I am remembering correctly, he mentioned noticing one of the Pierce-Arrow trademarks had lapsed, the one with the name Pierce with the arrow, and revived it for his company, which he traced back to another Pierce family: it not being clear if that family is, or is not, related to George Norman Pierce. Our Pierce family is very very large; the size goes way back to the Mayflower times: George was one of seven or eight; he fathered seven or eight – there are potentially innumerable descendants possible.
Doug Olgivie and his son Dave mentioned the company’s Maryland dealer/distributor, Charlie Black, established a fire engine museum in Hebron, Maryland; it included a Pierce fire engine. There was a Florida Region member at the time who had a fire engine (we never saw it; being kept in New England), so there was more than one reason to contact Black, and a treat to find he was very much an enthusiast. Black was also involved with a historic fire engine publication called Engine,Engine. He sent me a copy with the story of Pierce Manufacturing’s history, which I sent to Bernie; it would be among his records. Bernie never put it in the Arrow, but today’s trademark/copyright discussion suggests many might find what is there of interest.
Charlie Black and Doug Olgivie are no longer with us; the Hebron museum closed in the previous decade. There is a new fire engine museum nearby in Lutherville, suggesting the possibility of bringing the story current.
Brooks