For some car enthusiasts, wearing the logo of a favorite auto marque like Mercedes-Benz or BMW on your shirt feels just as good a feeling akin to a fashionista donning the monogram of a designer brand like Gucci or Louis Vuitton.
Related: UAW auto union targets every automaker with bold new plan
Apparel companies like Castore and Puma hold the licenses to produce authorized pieces of merchandise for automotive brands and racing teams, but the occasional fake and other unauthorized piece does slip through the cracks.
In a bold attempt to protect its brand image, one legendary supercar manufacturer is utilizing an atypical form of justice to find them.
As first reported on the owner's forum FerrariChat, Ferrari (RACE) -) has notified its owners that the brand has launched a new program designed catch violating products that unlawfully uses any part of its trademark.
Dubbed by as the "Ferrari Anti-Counterfeiting Reward" scheme, the Italian marque said on its information page that the program is designed to "incentivise the identification of activities that infringe upon Ferrari S.p.A.’s trademarks," where those who report "potential trademark infringements" will be rewarded.
According to the terms and conditions of the program, the prancing horse is accepting tips from "anyone who thinks they have identified a product for sale that may infringe upon Ferrari’s national, international, and European trademarks." Those who think a certain product for sale is in violation can submit a report to Ferrari via an online forum, which will then be accessed by the brand.
If Ferrari's investigators find that a submitted report contains a totally new infringement that the company saw for the first time, it will reward the first person who reported it first with "a Ferrari Gift Item" within 60 days of reporting. Ferrari said that said "gift" offered as a reward will be determined "solely at Ferrari’s discretion."
Ferrari's approach to finding counterfeit products and other items that use its trademarks is an unusual approach even for a company like the prancing horse, who has been lauded by both owners and enthusiasts for its notorious over-the-top approach to protecting its brand image.
In the original FerrariChat thread where the program first surfaced, owners and other users had choice words for Ferrari, while others made fun of the whole situation.
Under the original post, FerrariChat user and self-reported Ferrari owner willrace said in reaction that "[Ferrari] sound like the kind of a**wipes who would sue a long-standing charity to steal their name."
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Ferrarichat user versamil complained that their beloved brand doesn't seem to have better things to do, noting that the message came "From the company that gives us cars with sticky interiors and 1500 dollar optional cruise control."
Additional details, as well as the portal to submit a report directly to the prancing horse are on Ferrari's website.
TheStreet has reached out to Ferrari for additional comment.
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