Today is May 4th, which might not mean much to you, but it is an important date for the Ford Motor Company. ->ke31Why is it so important, you ask? It’s important because today the National Inventors Hall of Fame has highlighted Henry Ford along with the presentation of a unique Mustang->ke428 that is half 1965 and half 2015. Yes, you read that right. Ford has taken a recreation of the 1965 Mustang and fused it with a 2015 Mustang; well, more accurately, the company has fused about 60 percent of each car together.
The whole purpose of the split-aged Mustang is to highlight not only how the Mustang has changed over the years, but to be a part of the permanent Intellectual Property Power Exhibit at the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The idea is to demonstrate the significance of progress and how trademarks, patents, and other forms of intellectual property make modern amenities possible. Ford was chosen for this display because the company has played such a crucial role in American innovation, and the Mustang because it has been an icon of the automotive world for 50 years.
A little-known fact is that the Mustang was first released without any specific patents granted for its innovation or design. It took advantage of more than 100 patents that existed prior to its creation, but it wasn’t until after more than 1 million examples were sold that Ford decided to pursue patents specific to the Mustang itself.
When speaking of the Mustang, Chris Danowski – the Director of Technology Commercialization and Intellectual Property Licensing for Ford – said, “Everything moved so fast in the design and run-up to production of the original Mustang that there were no styling patents issued back then. Now look at the current car; 2015 Mustang Convertible alone was granted 36 styling patents, which ensure the unique look stays with the car. It also has many unique functional patents for things like the airbag structures, 911 Assist and so many other technologies baked right in.”
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Why it matters
Of the patents derived from the Mustang over the years, a number are demonstrated in the split Mustang that is now on display at the museum. It was formed from a left-hand-drive 1965 Mustang and a right-hand-drive 2015 Mustang. Even more importantly, though, is that every visitor to the museum can sit down in each side and compare the differences and similarities in styling, design, and even comfort. Needless to say, it is a pretty big deal.
The whole purpose of the split Mustang and the Intellectual Property Power Exhibit is to express just how important intellectual property rights and laws are. From a creative point of view, intellectual property can be a royal pain in the rump. If you come up with a design or logo, or even a name for a creative piece of work that could be confused with the creation of someone else, you can’t use it. Just look at the issues Jeremy Clarkson and his partners are having with naming their new car show on Amazon. While it is a pain, it also protects the creators of original work so that someone else can’t profit off of the same ideas or concepts.
It’s cool that Ford was chosen to create a display for this exhibit, and the Mustang was, by all means, the perfect choice among all the other Ford models that have come and gone. Now that the split Mustang is in place, I think it’s time they let Chevy do the same with the Camaro. It would be interesting to see the two displays sitting side by side wouldn’t it?
2015 Ford Mustang
Read our full review on the 2015 Ford Mustang here.