Ford Gets Fierce, YouTuber Cries Over Copyright Infringement

At this year's SEMA show, an unusual controversy unfolded when YouTuber TJ Hunt's custom wide-body Ford Mustang was banned from the event.

Ford reportedly filed a formal complaint, arguing that Hunt's creation looked too much like its limited-edition, 815-horsepower Mustang GTD—or so the story goes.

Hunt documented the build process and journey to SEMA in a video on his YouTube channel. The project began with a new-generation Mustang coupe, which his team modified over three months. The modifications included removing several body panels, cutting the rear wheel arches, and installing a "custom-designed" wide-body kit.

Unfortunately, just as Hunt arrived in Las Vegas, he received an email from SEMA staff informing him of the ban. "The auto manufacturer sent a formal complaint to the board, and the Mustang is banned from being at SEMA this year," he explained in one of his videos.

Hunt’s Mustang and the GTD shared striking similarities with prominent fender vents, an air scoop behind the door, a pronounced rear diffuser, and huge heat extraction vents on the hood. Hunt’s version wasn't as polished as the factory car, including a smaller front splitter, Dzus fasteners holding on the rear quarters, and none of the mechanical improvements Ford made to the GTD.

To be fair to Ford, the company started a legal process in late October before Hunt's build project was even complete, sending a communique to the StreetHunter team via lawyers regarding the Mustang project. The fact that TJ still decided to attempt to bring the vehicle to SEMA even after communicating with Ford's legal team is totally on him—his action was taken in order to create additional video content and hopefully generate a groundswell of activist enthusiasts.

The crux seems to lay in Streethunter's ambition to sell a widebody kit that would allow you to get the Mustang GTD look without having to shell out the $325,000 for a real GTD—maybe if the project was a one-off homage to the GTD it would have been allowed to survive.

At the end of the day, StreetHunter engaged in copyright infringement and was hoping to turn a profit from it. Ford has to act to enforce its intellectual property as part of its fiduciary duty to shareholders—if the company does not act it legally sets a precedent that anyone can infringe on Ford's IP and profit from it.

It took me about 7 minutes to figure all this out, how many videos do you think it will take TJ Hunt?

“Ford takes its intellectual property rights very seriously. We have invested significant resources in design and engineering this highly sought after Mustang," Ford spokesperson Richard Binhammer said to AutoGuide in a provided statement. "Therefore, we must take appropriate action to protect the value and exclusivity for our Mustang GTD customers and to Ford.”

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