I certainly appreciate this site, and everything I've learned here. But this is a commercial endeavor that trades on the MINI name and brand. MINI offers a forum, of sorts, on their own web-site. Understandably, they would rather us all go there rather than here.
That being said, I'd much rather be here.

 

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”
- I can smell it!
Spoken by a true patriot, a castle guard in Hamlet's Denmark. :evil: [***** Shakespeare]


Why now?

Why CooperFlag's logo?! Fight BMWNA on that one! They're BSin' you on that one. They can spend whatever they want on *****-wonka-wankin' lawyers, no judge is going to agree that CooperFlag's logo is anything resembling MINI's wings, - enough to detract from the MINI brand/image/or new, whipping-post social order. Someone there needs to stand guard. Tell them to come & get it! :evil:


The true "why" is not here...

Name-infringement issues, - highly doubtful. With BMWNA, (via MINI) openly supporting links & further, taking active, even participatory roles in the MCO forums herein, - please! "Go sell crazy someplace else! We're all full-up here!"

It's g.damn condescending to ask us to believe that is the whole of the issue, when it is much more clearly the hole of it.

So, - Why?!

_________________
MINI: Best horse for the buck!

 

seems to me like someone needs to create a roof with BS as its dominant theme

 

>>seems to me like someone needs to create a roof with BS as its dominant theme

Or a red BS badge to replace the S on the boot!

 

Unfortunately, I have to agree with MGCMAN. There is too much pressure on corporations to defend their brands. The value of these brands are undeniable and failure to defend them is tantamount to corporate suicide.

I remember when Disney went after a pre-school that was using Disney characters as a decoration in their childrens play room. Everyone was outraged and Disney was embarrassed, but the order was enforced. Public use of a logo causes it to pass quickly to the public domain. If BMW allows any commercial use at all, then it can be used by anyone with no recourse.

I'm not sure why they don't just set up a franchising operation where they can license the logo's use to commercial enterprise. That way they control its use and make a few bucks to boot.

Miniwanna

 

This is an old arguement between public relations and Laywers, and a lawyers advice is always to control the situation by never saying sorry , becasue its an admission of guilt, no matter how bad the nuclear spill was, never let other people use your name (can you imagine if xerox had not let people use there name when peopel started usign it as a verb that mean copying on all machines..) and don't worry about problems until somebody notices. that way blame cant' be on you for not noticing. Seems like teh mini division knew what they were doing when BMW gave them control, but now that bmw has seen what they did they want to rectify it by taking it all back.... Aftermarket suppliers are teh buzz word right now, even the dealers like sterling of VA use them to make a little extra dough... I thiunk that BMW needs to drop it stop drop and apologize for beign idiots. Could you imagine what peopel would do if honda made people change there names as well, you have a riot in japan!. MINI DO YOU HEAR US!, are you crazy?! EMBRACE don't DISGRACE!

 

Is Chrysler in trouble for using the "MINI" wings... look at their logo...

 

As a business person I buy all of the arguments about protecting copyright/word marks etc but it seems un-necessarly legalistic to do this heavy handed stuff to sites like MCO.

I would have thought that a 'users' guide' could be developed setting out how the logo could and couldn't be used and that would give MCO, Cooper Flags etc a fighting chance to develop the products and services that we - the buyers of MINIs - want and won't get from BMW (at a reasonable time/cost)

 

I still don't understand why someone would pay good money (bad money too) to put a logo of any kind from a corporation on a car, hat or tee-shirt?

They should be paying us to advertise their products!

I have never worn a NIKE logo shirt or a tee- shirt with the name of a band music group plastered on the chest.

I wish I had a penny for every Nine Inch Nails decal I have seen. Just a freakin penny!

Mona Cooper

 

>>“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”
>>
>>Spoken by a true patriot, a castle gaurd in Hamlet's Denmark. :evil: [***** Shakespeare]


"THE FIRST THING WE DO, LET'S KILL ALL THE LAWYERS." (from Henry VI, Part 2)

If Shakespeare thought lawyers were bad then, he would be horrified at today's crop of miscreants. The quote is technically misused but it's more fun this way!

 

I remember the hue and cry years back when Bruce Springsteen (of all people!) came down hard and sued a cover band for using his songs in their set. Many reasons were cited. Among them: Quality Control (Bruce didn't want half-assed renditions of his tunes performed) and Ownership (Bruce wrote the damn tunes and frankly didn't like people paying cover to listen to someone else perform them).
Why, then, is anyone surprised when MINI wants total control over usage of their name and logo?
You guys didn't believe all that "We're a friendly car company...not like those other mean ol' car companies" routine, did ya?

 

>>You guys didn't believe all that "We're a friendly car company...not like those other mean ol' car companies" routine, did ya?<<

Of course not. I love this car, but I'm not an idiot. My MINI buying experience was as sleazy as it gets. I'm naturally skeptical of ANY advertising campaign. The issue here is more the TIMING of this action. They waited until MCO was well past critical mass before springing this on Mark, Matt, and doubtless others.
_________________

 

You would think that in order to foster a MINI community that would initiate customers and keep them coming back for more, they could come up with something creative like a "license agreement" for forums and aftermarket companies to sign agreeing that BMW owns the relevant trademarks and can rescind usage privilages at any time. By coming down hard on people who are using the name MINI and any relevant imagery without having signed one of these license letters, they would reenforce their ownership, yet they'd still get the benefits of a thriving MINI fandom community.

 

 

>>You would think that in order to foster a MINI community that would initiate customers and keep them coming back for more, they could come up with something creative like a "license agreement" for forums and aftermarket companies to sign agreeing that BMW owns the relevant trademarks and can rescind usage privilages at any time. By coming down hard on people who are using the name MINI and any relevant imagery without having signed one of these license letters, they would reenforce their ownership, yet they'd still get the benefits of a thriving MINI fandom community.

Do you really think that Mark, or any other businessman would stake their future potential earnings on something that could be recinded at will by BMW? No, if any possibility exists for a licensing agreement, it must be in the form of an ironclad contract that protects the interests of ALL the parties. While I'm not saying that this couldn't happen, past events do not point toward a favorable resolution. Mark needs alternative domain names, that BMW agrees with in order to proceed positively towards MCO's future.

like:

MINImumCOOPERationwithbmwslegaldepartmentONLINE.co m

or some such nonsense.

 

One of the morals here is never underestimate anyone's stupidity...whether that one is a person or a corporation. As Stovepipe and Chris have recently noted, I'd NEVER bought the foolish "Let's be something other than the thieving capitalist scum you'd assume we are" message. Thus, it's not at all surprising to me that BMW is being "heavy handed." The fact that they would create an ad campaign/identity that specifically leads people to believe exactly the opposite about the company's true nature...well, this isn't out of character for an auto company (see Ford and the campaign about making the Expedition out of recycled bottles ). BUT THEN to drop the hammer on the enthusiasts that have in some ways most bought into this nonsense ... well this just defies reason. The only explanation as far as I'm concerned is that these companies are really as chock full of big ego morons as I would expect.

 

Yank, nice work!!!

Now you just need to set up a website (with MINI in the domain name, of course) to sell them, and we'll be all set!

 

MATT!!!!

You have a reason to fight for your logo!





There are more.....out there

 

The winged logo is used by Harley Davidson. Has been for decades. For BMW/MINI NA to say they now own it won't stand up in court. Why don't they take a lesson from the company they're trying to emulate, namely Harley? The Harley Davidson "Bar & Shield" has to be one of the most copied logo's out there. Yet Harley lets it go on. Why? Because it's free advertising! No matter what is printed inside the logo, your first impression is, "Oh, that's Harley". BMW - everytime someone uses the word MINI they think of you. As Burt Renolds once said, "I don't care what they say, just spell the name right".

 

>>As Burt Renolds once said, "I don't care what they say, just spell the name right".

ummm.... I believe that's ReYnolds.

Expect a call from his lawyers.

 

>>MATT!!!!
>>
>>You have a reason to fight for your logo!
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>There are more.....out there
>>
>>

You mean like these






Does one wing count

And dont forget the blaint use of a s





_________________

ly/b mcs all packages leather anthricite dob 11/23/2002[

 

>>The winged logo is used by Harley Davidson. Has been for decades. For BMW/MINI NA to say they now own it won't stand up in court. Why don't they take a lesson from the company they're trying to emulate, namely Harley? The Harley Davidson "Bar & Shield" has to be one of the most copied logo's out there. Yet Harley lets it go on. Why? Because it's free advertising! No matter what is printed inside the logo, your first impression is, "Oh, that's Harley". BMW - everytime someone uses the word MINI they think of you. As Burt Renolds once said, "I don't care what they say, just spell the name right".

The situation goes sour when someone starts making an inferior piece of junk product that is now associated with harley for the reasons you mention above. Not to say that Matt or Mark's products are junk but BMW can't pick and choose who is good and who isnt so its a big "NO" for everyone.

Not trying to defend BMW, just telling it like it is....


--
Cheese

 

>>The winged logo is used by Harley Davidson. Has been for decades. For BMW/MINI NA to say they now own it won't stand up in court. Why don't they take a lesson from the company they're trying to emulate, namely Harley? The Harley Davidson "Bar & Shield" has to be one of the most copied logo's out there. Yet Harley lets it go on. Why? Because it's free advertising! No matter what is printed inside the logo, your first impression is, "Oh, that's Harley". BMW - everytime someone uses the word MINI they think of you. As Burt Renolds once said, "I don't care what they say, just spell the name right".


Not true, Harley does NOT let it go on, they "officially license" their trademarks and logos to anyone/everyone who wants to pay. As I said earlier in this thread, they vigorously enforce their trademarks and have attempted to trademark some pretty unique things (i.e. the exhaust note of a Harley shared-crankpin V-twin, for instance).

But the similarities in the wings and the use of black/orange are too great. I wonder if HD's lawyers are already working on this issue

 

ok, the BS and the Stake and Shake were real gems.

On other notes....

"We of the London Underground do ask that Teldon Cease and Desist using our logo on his Mini Cooper. We find that people have been flocking to his house wondering what we meant by "Mind the gap" Thank you kindly, The Metro-London Transit Authority..."


I Love the logo BTW.

"Mind the Mini" it ought to say, lol

 

Macncheese is exactly right. BMW/MINI are trying to protect their brand by disallowing ALL uses of their name or logo. It's a simple way to protect themselves from shabby products/websites that some might affiliate with their brand.
The fact that MCO is an informative, well-run site is beside the point from their vantage point.