“(Some) Cars are Not Characters” as Ford Stock (NYSE:F) Sinks on Court Case, Cologne Strike

Last week, I asked if there was trouble ahead at legacy automaker Ford (F). The weekend proved to be answer enough, as indeed, trouble came to find Ford in a distressing variety of ways. It had investors pretty distressed as well, as Ford shares plunged 4% in Monday afternoon’s trading.

The bad news started with the sealing off of Gate Four at the Cologne, Germany Ford plant. Red-and-white barrier tape festooned the entrance, and sheets of paper announcing “Strikebreakers enter through Gate 1” framed the picture. But the number of strikebreakers involved, reports noted, proved surprisingly few, and over 10,000 out of a combined total of 11,500 dropped their tools in a one-day strike.

The strike kicked in as Ford planned to cut jobs at the Cologne factory, paring back 2,900 of those 11,500 jobs, a substantial cut by any reckoning well beyond mere decimation. This did not sit well with employees, and thus—in a literally unprecedented move—the Cologne plant went on strike for the first time ever, as Ford employees planned to fight for their jobs.

You Can’t Copyright a Car, Sir

And then, another blow arrived, which was more tangential to Ford, but still involved Ford nonetheless. Word from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals focused on a car named “Eleanor.” If that sounds familiar, then you are a fan of the Gone in 60 Seconds movie line, because it is indeed that Eleanor that is involved here.

The court found that, as impressive as Eleanor was, Eleanor was not a person. Nor was Eleanor a character. Rather, Eleanor was a prop, and props really cannot be copyrighted. But there was precedent on the side that declared Eleanor a prop: the Towle test, which focused on a 2015 case where someone was making replica Batmobiles. Since the Batmobile had some autonomy, had consistent traits, and distinctive qualities, the Batmobile could be considered a character in its own right and copyrightable. Eleanor, however, lacked in all three particulars, the judgment noted.

Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, 12 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 14.85% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $9.71 per share implies 2.71% downside risk.

See more F analyst ratings

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