It is worth noting that CURT copied the MINI do More (original designer of the Hidden Hitch) and a lawsuit is pending. We do not recommend purchasing product that was copied. They even copied our instructions word for word, image for image...amazing.

By the original, by one that is made in the USA and owned by MINI enthusiasts:

http://www.minidomore.com/home.php?cat=244

 

Curts Legal Team has proposed an 'out of court' settlement in our favor and we are considering accepting it with minor adjustments. As one can imagine moving forward with expensive litigation involving hundreds of hours of fees at $150-250/ hour as well as the massive time involved is very challenging for both parties involved.

No guilt involved, again just proven facts.

 

Never pleasant to read about these sorts of things.
As the OP, I stand behind my recommendation of the minidomore/outmotoring design. It remains my favorite, and I miss having it (I sold the Clubman and now have a Countryman) but the new owner uses it to haul a tandem bike around on a oversize rack (the same Hollywood Rack I used to transport an Xtracycle cargo bike) and loves it...

 

For those that want the most recent news regarding the Mini Do More + Curt "issue" here it is...

When we purchased MINIdoMore in June 2011 there was a pending lawsuit between Curt and MINI do More regarding copyright infringement of some of the Hitches that MINIdoMore had designed and engineered as well as the instructions and images that MINIdoMore generated.

We received, as part of the companies files, a letter from Curts VP of Marketing (name withheld from this post) clearly admitting that their staff had copied the written instructions and images in the MDM instructions for their use and had rectified it immediately once they were called out on it. In another document from the Curt legal council (name withheld from this post) was a statement that denied copying of the physical hitches to the EXTENT which was stated by MDM's legal council in a earlier letter. Please note they did not deny copying our hitches- they only denied that they were 100% copied. Of course there was lots of legalese to support these statements. IN THE SAME LETTER they offered to resolve the matter amicably and offered a financial settlement to Mini Do More to resolve the issue before it went any further. Wow, shocking! Why deny that they copied our hitches 100% and then offer a substantial settlement?

We have decided not to pursue the matter any further and will not take it to our courts system. We consider their admission of guilt and financial settlement to be a rational place to stop.

As a professional in the Product Development industry and having spent many years dealing with Copyright and Patent infringement as it relates to sporting goods I'm well aware of the costs associated with protecting patented products in court. Furthermore there are "design" patents and "utility" Patents - both with varying degrees of protection. Because our hitches were not Patented it would have been a massive uphill battle. Proving a "Patented" product was copied is nearly impossible as a manufacturer/ copycat can change something as simple as the gauge of metal or angle of one corner on a bracket and get away with just about anything. Typically Utility Patents are worth pursuing but Design Patents are not- please google this for more info.

Copyright law, on the other hand is fairly easy to protect and that is where this case had some real meat to it (copyright protection is a way to protect something with very minimal investment and usually relates to print media, art, photography and in some cases products). Because our instructions were copied word for word and images were taken the case had traction and had it gone any further could have been EASILY supported in court.

Again, after considering Curts admission of guilt and our desire to invest our time, money and energy on other more beneficial and enjoyable parts of life we have decided to move on. We will not forget this event, nor will we allow our Brands value to be diminished by uninformed and belligerent online personalities.

We make great hitches and offer MINI Cooper hitch applications that others simply don't. We are a honest company that makes great products and have been supporting the MINI industry since 2002. We hope that as consumers consider the options for which product and which company to support they will consider the facts and experiences of other MINI owners in the community.

 

Sub'do for reference on my future install...