Infiniti infringe on BMW's "M"
03-20-2007, 08:22 AM
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Infiniti infringe on BMW's "M"
Infiniti comes up empty in court battle against BMW over letter M
The Canadian Press
March 17, 2007
(CP) - BMW has prevailed over Infiniti in a court battle over the letter M.
The ruling by Federal Court Justice W. Andrew MacKay found that the use of the letter by Infiniti, the premium brand of Japanese carmaker Nissan, "in form similar to that of the plaintiffs' trademark M alone, and its use of M6 as a package for modifying one of its vehicles, cause confusion in Canada between the sources of the wares of the defendant and the wares of the plaintiffs."
BMW has been adding M badges to souped-up versions of its already high-performance cars since 1978 in Germany and 1987 in Canada, when the M6 arrived, followed by the M3, the M5 and other variants.
The German carmaker argued that these vehicles have come to be known, "particularly by auto journalists and car enthusiasts," as M cars which enhance the image and sales of the rest of its fleet.
Infiniti, meanwhile, registered M45 in 2004 and M35 in 2005 as trademarks for sedans in the middle of its range, and in some advertising has used the letter M alone. It also offered an M6 sport package for its lower-priced G35.
The judge found Nissan "liable, in damages to be determined . . . for the use of the letter M and the descriptor M6, as trademarks for automobiles, parts and accessories, which caused a likelihood of confusion between the sources of its wares and of BMW's."
Nissan was barred from directing public attention to its products in any way likely to cause confusion.
"The defendant is also ordered to deliver to the plaintiffs or to destroy under oath, all literature, invoices, packaging, signs, advertisements, promotional or marketing material, printed or otherwise recorded, in the possession, custody or control of the defendant which may be considered to offend the injunction now granted."
Submissions will be considered later on monetary damages and legal costs.
I think Infiniti was being dumb when advertising the m35/45. If you watch the commercials, at the very end, it shows "the all new Infiniti M".
I wonder if BMW will pursue this in the U.S. as well.
BMW FTW!!
The Canadian Press
March 17, 2007
(CP) - BMW has prevailed over Infiniti in a court battle over the letter M.
The ruling by Federal Court Justice W. Andrew MacKay found that the use of the letter by Infiniti, the premium brand of Japanese carmaker Nissan, "in form similar to that of the plaintiffs' trademark M alone, and its use of M6 as a package for modifying one of its vehicles, cause confusion in Canada between the sources of the wares of the defendant and the wares of the plaintiffs."
BMW has been adding M badges to souped-up versions of its already high-performance cars since 1978 in Germany and 1987 in Canada, when the M6 arrived, followed by the M3, the M5 and other variants.
The German carmaker argued that these vehicles have come to be known, "particularly by auto journalists and car enthusiasts," as M cars which enhance the image and sales of the rest of its fleet.
Infiniti, meanwhile, registered M45 in 2004 and M35 in 2005 as trademarks for sedans in the middle of its range, and in some advertising has used the letter M alone. It also offered an M6 sport package for its lower-priced G35.
The judge found Nissan "liable, in damages to be determined . . . for the use of the letter M and the descriptor M6, as trademarks for automobiles, parts and accessories, which caused a likelihood of confusion between the sources of its wares and of BMW's."
Nissan was barred from directing public attention to its products in any way likely to cause confusion.
"The defendant is also ordered to deliver to the plaintiffs or to destroy under oath, all literature, invoices, packaging, signs, advertisements, promotional or marketing material, printed or otherwise recorded, in the possession, custody or control of the defendant which may be considered to offend the injunction now granted."
Submissions will be considered later on monetary damages and legal costs.
I think Infiniti was being dumb when advertising the m35/45. If you watch the commercials, at the very end, it shows "the all new Infiniti M".
I wonder if BMW will pursue this in the U.S. as well.
BMW FTW!!
03-20-2007, 08:52 AM
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Now I wonder if Nissan will rebadge the M35 and M45 now. Hey they can change it to the N class because I don't think any carmaker has used "N" before. Infiniti has used F, G, I, J, M, and Q on their cars.
good for BMW...
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03-20-2007, 09:30 AM
#10
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Originally Posted by CLpower
btw, this is a retarded lawsuit
You have to protect your trademarks or else they become public domain... Did you know that Porsches most famous car was going to be called the 901 ?? Peugeot sued, and it became the 911...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_901
03-20-2007, 09:36 AM
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Originally Posted by CLpower
btw, this is a retarded lawsuit
how so? Infiniti even went as far as having an "M6" sports package for the g35
03-20-2007, 09:46 AM
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Originally Posted by speedzer
how so? Infiniti even went as far as having an "M6" sports package for the g35
did you ever once confuse the two? They are just letters and numbers, we are running out of them to name cars. I just find it retarded
Just another stupid move IMO by BMW, although not as bad as what they did to BMW forums in the past.
03-20-2007, 09:49 AM
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Originally Posted by speedzer
how so? Infiniti even went as far as having an "M6" sports package for the g35
The Bmw M6 was around before Infiniti was even a company. just another dumb lawsuit, but thats the world we live in today i guess
03-20-2007, 10:40 AM
#15
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...sounds like BMW is looking for a piece of the profits from a very successful Infiniti M (a lineup which has established itself as a reliable version of the 5-series).That said, is Mercedes Benz next?
03-20-2007, 10:44 AM
#16
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Originally Posted by GreenMonster
You have to protect your trademarks or else they become public domain... Did you know that Porsches most famous car was going to be called the 901 ?? Peugeot sued, and it became the 911...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_901
and yea, this is a stupid lawsuit
03-20-2007, 11:02 AM
#17
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Originally Posted by F23A4
That said, is Mercedes Benz next?
Another reason BMW won't go after MB is that MB isn't dumb enough to have a commercial that ends with "The All-New Mercedes-Benz M" and offer a sport package dubbed "M6."
I would expect Nissan to do the exact same thing BMW did if BMW had offered the Z3/Z4 as the "Z" and televised commercials advertising the "BMW Z."
03-20-2007, 11:31 AM
#18
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Originally Posted by cob3683
I would expect Nissan to do the exact same thing BMW did if BMW had offered the Z3/Z4 as the "Z" and televised commercials advertising the "BMW Z."
03-20-2007, 11:41 AM
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i thought nissan already filed a lawsuit over BMW's Z.
and i don't think it is necessary for infiniti to rebadge the M35 or M45. The lawsuit concerns the use of the "M" where it would likely confuse customers. As long as infiniti refers to these cars as either "M35" or "M45", they are in the clear because BMW has no "m35" or "m45" in their lineup.
It would be confusing when Infiniti referred to it as just plain "M" because now it's not differentiating between any models between the 2 different brands...a likely point of confusion.
and i don't think it is necessary for infiniti to rebadge the M35 or M45. The lawsuit concerns the use of the "M" where it would likely confuse customers. As long as infiniti refers to these cars as either "M35" or "M45", they are in the clear because BMW has no "m35" or "m45" in their lineup.
It would be confusing when Infiniti referred to it as just plain "M" because now it's not differentiating between any models between the 2 different brands...a likely point of confusion.
03-20-2007, 11:50 AM
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I've got an idea! How about these companies just do away with all the rediculous letter and number model names. How about that!
Ugh...
Germany can have that since they seem to have started it. Or at least made it popular.
Ugh...
Germany can have that since they seem to have started it. Or at least made it popular.
03-20-2007, 11:50 AM
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How is this a dumb lawsuit? They are just going after what is theirs? I am sure anyone who is on here calling this a dumb lawsuit would be very pissed if someone or something infringed on their trademark.
03-20-2007, 12:11 PM
#23
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Originally Posted by supraken
blah, there's only 26 letters in the alphabet....
and why didn't BMW sue Infiniti for using 'M' back in 1990 for the M30, and waited more than 15 years?
and why didn't BMW sue Infiniti for using 'M' back in 1990 for the M30, and waited more than 15 years?
03-20-2007, 12:14 PM
#24
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Originally Posted by laidback93
I've got an idea! How about these companies just do away with all the rediculous letter and number model names. How about that!
Ugh...
Germany can have that since they seem to have started it. Or at least made it popular.
Ugh...
Germany can have that since they seem to have started it. Or at least made it popular.
With alphanumerics, there is bound to be some 'stepping on toes'.
03-20-2007, 01:09 PM
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I think this is very ironic considering that nissan sued a guy that owned nissan.com and the guy wasn't even in the auto business. he was selling computers. and his last name IS nissan!!!! go figure! Nissan didn't win of course, but the guy was peeved!
Now for nissan to get banged for model name infringment is hilarious. Karma is a bitch.
FYI, the guy that owns nissan.com hates nissan.
http://www.nissan.com/
http://www.nissan.com/Digest/The_Story.php
Now for nissan to get banged for model name infringment is hilarious. Karma is a bitch.
FYI, the guy that owns nissan.com hates nissan.
http://www.nissan.com/
http://www.nissan.com/Digest/The_Story.php
Last edited by Sly Raskal; 03-20-2007 at 01:12 PM.
03-20-2007, 01:20 PM
#27
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Originally Posted by INSPIRE 32V
this is real stupid IMO
I don't see why. You and me know the difference between BMW's and Infiniti's "M" but many a consumer out there does not. Makes alot of sense to me.
With every damn automaker moving to alphanumeric naming this will only become more of a problem. Hopefully some of them move back to actual names at some point.
Wasn't Acura suing Ford about the MKX as well?
03-20-2007, 01:24 PM
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Yeah I remember watching the Infiniti commercial "The whole new M"... I was like "WTF...it's not a freaking BMW you morons"
I'm glad the ruling went to BMW.........
I'm glad the ruling went to BMW.........
03-20-2007, 01:45 PM
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Originally Posted by GunnmeTaLCURA04
I think BMW had the Z series before the Z350 Nissan. So BMW wins again.
and even before that, enthusiasts dubbed it the "Z", nissan never called it that, so they couldn't tag them for that either.
03-20-2007, 02:11 PM
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Originally Posted by 04EuroAccordTsx
They should bring the Datsun name back and make it go against Scion.
https://acurazine.com/forums/automotive-news-6/datsun-development-technology-news-340851/
https://acurazine.com/forums/car-talk-5/datsun-510-revival-350768/
03-20-2007, 02:22 PM
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Originally Posted by 260 HP
Actually Nissan/Datsun had the Z cars way before BMW launched their own Z. Datsun started it out with 240Z I believe back in the 70s, well before BMW lauched Z3.
we would have heard of a lawsuit a long time ago about that if that was the case.
The "M" infringment is a lot more distinct as there are "M" Powered cars from BMW as they have advertised.
03-20-2007, 02:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Sly Raskal
but even still, neither nissan nor BMW could sue the other, as any of the "z" cars from nissan were dubbed the "Z" by enthusiasts, not by the manufacturer really.
we would have heard of a lawsuit a long time ago about that if that was the case.
The "M" infringment is a lot more distinct as there are "M" Powered cars from BMW as they have advertised.
we would have heard of a lawsuit a long time ago about that if that was the case.
The "M" infringment is a lot more distinct as there are "M" Powered cars from BMW as they have advertised.
actually no, the last gen 300zx (early 90's) was advertised as the "Z".
Anyone recall the 300zx commercial with the typewriter?
03-20-2007, 02:29 PM
#36
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Originally Posted by Sly Raskal
but even still, neither nissan nor BMW could sue the other, as any of the "z" cars from nissan were dubbed the "Z" by enthusiasts, not by the manufacturer really.
we would have heard of a lawsuit a long time ago about that if that was the case.
The "M" infringment is a lot more distinct as there are "M" Powered cars from BMW as they have advertised.
we would have heard of a lawsuit a long time ago about that if that was the case.
The "M" infringment is a lot more distinct as there are "M" Powered cars from BMW as they have advertised.
03-20-2007, 02:35 PM
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Originally Posted by mrdeeno
actually no, the last gen 300zx (early 90's) was advertised as the "Z".
Anyone recall the 300zx commercial with the typewriter?
Anyone recall the 300zx commercial with the typewriter?
well, hope for bmw's sake that nissan didn't file that trademark.
Yes, indeed.
03-20-2007, 04:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Sly Raskal
It was?
well, hope for bmw's sake that nissan didn't file that trademark.
well, hope for bmw's sake that nissan didn't file that trademark.
