Since Palo Uber (Carol, Bryce Smythson, Sean, Geoffrey, Sir Patrick, have I missed anyone?) appears to answer and otherwise respond to customer emails through vendor announcements rather than actually sending an email back to the customer, perhaps someone can enlighten the rest of us what the following 'vendor announcement' is regarding:

1. Who is DTR?
2. What attorney?
3. Defend (from or against) what?
4. Who are they and what London court will they have to answer to?
5. What are they answering for?
6. Who is that company?
7. What does the phrase "That A lot of "light Bars" or whatever they are calling them." mean?

Answers and details please... we just want answers and details. Palo Uber has chosen to put this in the public arena by posting it so I think it's only fair that the rest of NAM (and the MINI community in general) knows the details. Thanks.

Mods:
This might not be the exact proper place for this thread so feel free to move it if necessary. I placed it here because it seems to be in reference to their light bar.

Everyone Else:
Don't come in here yelling and screaming about I don't know squat or have I ever dealt with them, etc. because that has no bearing on my questions or this thread. My opinions and thoughts about this company are not what is being discussed here. I am simply asking for more information, that is all. I am almost certain there will be some bashing or trash talking or whatever you want to call it (though I hope there is not) but it won't be by me. I would just like my questions answered.

 

And in a similar vein, here is something I posted in the Palo Uber Forged Wheels thread. Still waiting for a response.

 

this won't end well

 

I don't know anything about Uber, have no opinion about them one way or the other, but I, too, would like to know the details!

 

not to pile on the bs... i try to stay away from this crap...

but it seems like this company is run by a B school drop out that has a marijuana problem.

1) make new accounts for each member of your company... how hard is that... it's pretty clear that it's one person trying to sound like many
2) spell check and grammar check... I'm no genious... and I type fast and have alot of typo's... then again I'm not trying to sell myself as a cultured vendor that is better then everyone else
3) stop posting responces to peoples emails in the vendor discussion. It's un-proffesional and it's un-necessary
4) make your own products and don't lie
5) don't even act like some international court is going to handle some small supposed tuners company. You have to first have a product to have a lawsuit for copy right infringement. You have to second have a valid company that doesn't just sub their work out. You have to third, be proffessional enough to get a laywer... and if you can't manage to post on forums with different user names or check your grammer... how the hell is that going to happen

those are the things that come to mind off the top of my head. I've spent time in business classes and I wasn't born yesterday... the sub the work out re-brand technique is not new... and it's not honorable... it's just for making money and living off other peoples ideas.

 

<spits soda>

 

Hey prime-drk-, which palo uber parts do you have on your car?

 

This won't end.

 

sure it will, just like the other thread that *poof* disappeared today

 

my entire mcs is carved from an uber billet piece of un-obtanium imported from the depths of munich shipped through an art gallery in london and honored by knights of the round table.

It's then shipped into california and displayed in cafe's where all the best modern impressionists host their works of "art"



ok so that was over the line but i still think it's funny.

 

POOOOOOOOOOOOOFFF

 

Please, please, please can we try to keep this about the questions I posted?

Right now I honestly don't want to hear about who has what parts on their car, what the artwork looks like, where it hangs or who works at or runs this company. I would just like to hear about the 'patent infringement' that has occured. Simple as that.

 

And I'd like a million bucks given to me, but phat chance

 

these are "trade barrier" fights. No one has the depth of pockets to prosocute these, other than large companies, nor do they have to $ to defend. So it's a game of brinksmanship to see who folds first.

On wheel design, all one has to do is find a wheel that's already been sold that has very close to the same design, and the case goes away. This could even come from a cartoon, sketch or model!

If some company is going to sue another over patents, all the defending company has to do is show they were working on the idea before the other company filed. While not Palo Uber, we see lots of "patent pending" stuff from M7 on the DFIC, yet no case has been filed. To make it more complicated, if the owner of the rights doesn't file a case protecting thier IP with a year after having found out about it, it's an implicit grand of rights to keep on doing whatever they were doing... In the case of the DFIC, I think that window has closed and no suite can really be filed!

Now, Palo Uber may CLAIM to own light bar design, but I don't see how that can hold water. As there have been lots of light bars out there for a long, long time. Unless there is some new magic in what PU is doing, there's nothing new there to protect, and you just have a marketing scare tactic.

I'll watch this with interest to see how much time and effort goes down the toilette chasing things that can't be cought.

Matt

 

lol. i really hope that palo uber doesnt go out of business, they are the only one that sells the really cool wing extension for the spoiler. horribly overpriced but i really like it.

what am i saying i dont really care either way haha

 

do you mean the add-on piece that's 'propietary material that's ridgid, yet flexible'? There's probably a patent on that too eh?

 

I'm just curious to find out because if this is another case of PU re-badging someone else's product and presenting it as their own design, then that means that "Palo Uber" light bar (which is widely-regarded as being a pretty nice product) is likely available somewhere else for a lower cost (i.e. from the original designer).

 

if OEM channels undersell retail outlets, then there's no reason for the retail outlets to sell the parts. If the OEM really wants to sell retail, there are large overhead costs associated with selling direct. Many companies go back and forth on this one, trying to squeeze each extra dollar of profit. The best companies leave enough price room for the retail channels to make money without underselling them. The worst ones screw their retail channels for some short term $, then wonder why no-one will sell their stuff.

Matt

 

and this happens ALL the time, especially with car parts.

 

IBTP?

 

I understand that - it's the same in most industries, especially computer software. The software companies are willing to sell direct, if you absolutely insist on buying from them, but they'll usually charge MSRP or higher, in order not to upset their retail resellers.

But in the case of Palo Uber, if you look at their prices compared to even the *retail* prices of the same item from other resellers, (not just the OEM prices), the markup from PU is extreme. To use the PU forged rims as an example, I haven't seen *any* evidence that they're anything more than re-badged Sportmax wheels, but PU is charging $1000 more for them than other Sportmax resellers.

That's the point I was making about the light bar. If it's truly someone else's design, and is available elsewhere, either from the OEM or from other retailers, it will likely be significantly cheaper.

 

what's the point ?

PU brands products (either directly manufactured or white labled). PU sets a price and advertises the product. You buy or you don't.

Why is it that some of you find PU over the top expensive, its because you are informed !!! You are aware of the multitude of vendors out there and your part of a board that "discusses" Mini parts. For the guy/girl that just bought a Mini and drives by the PU store - they say wow look at all this neat stuff for my Mini.

PU will find its customer niche - its either big enough for them to be profitable or it won't.

I doubt very much that they will be very successful here at NAM.

 

I really like the wing extension too, but after a 5 minute measuring session with a dodgy tape measure and a quick wander around e-bay, I figure that I can use this item it is about the right length, flexible enough to go around the curve and includes 3M tape $23 shipped to my door.

I am going to order one and see how it looks.

 

the point is PU claims they originally designed the products and went so far as to patent them. As for' driving by the PU store' - that's quite literally impossible.

 

Except that if PU is falsely claiming to be the designer and exclusive source for parts that they are in fact rebadging, then they are doing a disservice to potential buyers by giving the impression that there are no alternative vendors for the parts.

In the case of other manufacturers such as M7 or Alta, there are a multitude of vendors re-selling their parts, but those resellers make no claims to be the original designers or to be the exclusive sole source for the products. A simple Google search for "M7" or "Alta Mini" will reveal those other vendors.

I'd like to think that the discussion (that has currently been made unavailable pending review) was serving to educate potential buyers as to the company that they'd be dealing with.