@bigkid posted:The UP went after the model train industry starting in 2003, they were looking for licensing revenue for UP and the railroads that merged/it bought. They sued Athearn and Lionel in like 2004 (note, didn't have this info at the tip of my fingers, looked it up). It was a revenue move pure and simple,part of a broader effort.
It backfired on them, it generated a ton of negative publicity for them which 'surprised' the knuckleheads that came up with this idea, it prob cost them more in negative publicity than they could have gotten back. In 2006 they basically granted a perpetual license to model train companies. In their press releases they tried backtracking, claiming that the only reason they wanted licensing was to make sure that the 'brand was displayed properly', rather than money (which totally contradicted what they filed in court). An executive of one of the model train companies speaking anonymously (I would hazard a guess Athearn) said that was kind of ridiculous, in that model train companies strive to reproduce the real thing as closely as possible.
Don't know what source you looked at for your information but, UP only "sued" two companies over so-called unauthorized use of any of their logos. One company was a restaurant in up-state New York (reportedly called 'Union Pacific'), which the railroad lost in court, and the other "company" was Nils Huxtable, photographer & calendar producer, from Canada, which the railroad lost and subsequently had to pay a substantial cash settlement to Mr. Huxtable.
The "rest of the story" was, Mike Wolf, of MTH Electric Trains, filed suit against Union Pacific over their screwball attempt at licensing model train companies. All of this was going on shortly after the UP + SP merger, which caused a major melt-down in the Texas area. Such melt-down caused the Wall Street Journal to question why the UP was more concerned with "going after toy train manufacturers" than "running their railroad". At the same time, the CEO responsible for the whole mess, Dick Davidson, retired, and the new CEO quickly told the UP Corporate Attorney to put a stop to all the "toy train licensing foolishness" and settle the suit with MTH Electric Trains.
