U. P. Seeks damages from Mike's Train House

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi,
Happen to see this article in the morning paper. Thought it might interest some folks.
Brian

Union Pacific Corp., the biggest U.S. railroad by sales, has sued to stop the nation’s second-largest model-train maker from using logos for the Union Pacific and other rail lines it owns.

The lawsuit seeks damages from closely held Mike’s Train House Inc., based in Columbia, Md. Mike’s Train House, owned by MTH Electric Trains, pushed larger rival Lionel LLC into bankruptcy in 2004 by winning a suit about theft of trade secrets.

“The whole purpose of the licensing program is to ensure our logo and brand is used accurately and appropriately,” said Mark Davis, a spokesman for Omaha-based Union Pacific.

U.P. began collecting royalties two years ago for use of its name and those of railroads it has taken over, including Southern Pacific Lines and Western Pacific. Decades ago, rail companies helped design model trains and charged nothing for using their logos.

“There was a time when the railroads thought this was good publicity for them,” said Neil Besougloff, editor of Classic Toy Trains magazine. “Hobbyists think it’s wrong that Union Pacific wants the model train enthusiasts to pay a premium.”

MTH, founded in 1980, has been in talks with U.P., said Andy Edleman, vice president of marketing for Mike’s Trains. He said he didn’t know of the lawsuit, filed Dec. 30 in federal court in Omaha.

U.P.'s royalty demands “have affected what trains we make,” Edleman said. “You can’t charge more for a Union Pacific train.”

CSX Corp., the third-largest U.S. railroad, has a fee-based licensing program that is less cumbersome than Union Pacific’s, which is based on sales, Edleman said.

BNSF Railway Co., the second-biggest railroad, doesn’t charge for licensing its name, and No. 4 Norfolk Southern Railway Co. doesn’t have a program, he said.

Edleman rejected U.P.'s argument that licensing is neede

2

Mike’s Train House being sued by Union Pacific? Has there ever been a more classic case of karma?!?!

Geez, who do you root for in THAT battle?

[(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]

3

Where’s our UP bashers now? [:D]

4

Very Interesting.

It is common knowledge that MTH has never collected any monies from Lionel in the lawsuit they won, but they are now accused of using the Union Pacific Logo without paying any license fee??? MTH is probably short of money also and should solve this problem shortly before any more court dates.

The talks they are in with the UP must not worked out well. .

5

It wouldn’t hurt me if the BNSF Railway started to charge extra for their Logo. At least that won’t stop me! Allan.

6

What Goes around, comes around.

Looks good on them.

7

[#ditto][tup] [:D][yeah] Baby!

Exactly, Karma is a [censored] when it comes back to get you. For the first time, I have to pull for UP. You could make the arguement that if anyone should have known about fess and stuff… it should have been MTH. Guess they arent above all after all.

8

Well, if any of these RR’s need money, its CSX, so that doesnt bother me. Good on BNSF and NS though. Thats pretty cool.

9

What hasn’t been mentioned yet is this: If MTH were to end up in court over this and win their defence, every UP modeler in the land would be in their debt. I think this would be a classic case of Irony!

10

Seems everyone else figured out how to deal with royalties but MTH. Unfortunately MTH will probably luck out in court with a slap on the wrist. Would hate to see royalties go away because of “poor” little Mike’s court date.
Does make it hard to choose sides in this skirmish!
Will [2c]

11

Why not, other manufacturers do it. You mean the guys who masterminded all this fancy control system stuff can’t figure out how to price models differently according to roadname?

While I’m no fan of licensing fees, I find it hard to accept blatant stupidity.

Regards

Ed

12

Bwa–HAAAHHH! I KNEW this would eventually happen! It was bound to happen, two so-called ‘giants’ getting into a p###ing contest. Why does it remind me of Hitler and Stalin?
Tom [:D][:D]

13

To anwser your question Grande man, I am a UP basher.

The only reason UP has the program is for this exact reason. If someone uses any of their stuff in someway they dont like they sue them so they can get more money. This is why I despise UP. The only thing I like about UP is they have a lot of GE tosters, I love watching those things burn. UP should be shot. The only reason they made the G. Bush locomotive is so they can get money from government logos.

Victor

Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]

14

Sadly, we have to put up with Union Pacific down here where I’m located - which used to be the old Southern Pacific lines until the merger ten years ago. I run UP freighters on my layout and will continue to do so because I’ve always modeled local roads. However, I don’t support UP or any other railroad for charging companies for using their logos. That’s just stupid and greedy in my book.
I wonder how they’d feel if a lot of their customers stopped doing business with them because of this. BNSF goes the same places that UP does…
UP is also the biggest cover up artist there is when ever there’s a car/train collision, and will try and destroy all evidence that they were at fault.

Tracklayer

15

Though I may not agree with the fee basis used by UP, almost every major company charges some sort of royalty for the use of their logo… Harley-Davidson, Ford, Chevy, John Deere, Coca Cola, etc., etc.

I am glad to see them going after someone deserving of their wrath, however. Can’t think of a more deserving target than MTH. Of course, Mike Wolf may claim that he invented the whole idea of logos to begin with… And of course, didn’t he patent the wheel? Seems UP would owe lots of royalties for all their rolling stock…

16

Talk about poetic Justice.

While I despise both companies with a intense and and seething passionate hatred that probably isn’t healthy. The fact that these two companies are now battling eachother is liable to provide some thrilling entertainment. I will pop some popcorn and watch with great interest.

James

P.S. While I could care less about Lionel, that DCC lawsuit is a crock of bull and everyone knows it.