BMW loses ‘M’ battle with Nissan
December 31st, 1969
BMW has lost a court battle in Canada to prevent Nissan from using the letter ‘M’ for what BMW describes as its rival's "inferior and more modestly priced" models. The latest announcement comes several months after BMW originally won an injunction to stop Nissan from using the letter. The original injunction was later overturned on appeal.
Part of BMW’s problem is the difficulty in proving that there was a trademark infringement but that won’t stop it from appealing the latest decision, reports the Financial Post. Officials from Munich didn’t object to Nissan using the letter for the Infiniti "M35" and "M45" but when the Japanese carmaker ran an advertisement in Canada, which stated “the M is coming,” they decided to take action.
BMW’s only option now is to either petition the Supreme Court to listen to its case or reach an agreement with Nissan.
BMW has lost a court battle in Canada to prevent Nissan from using the letter ‘M’ for what BMW describes as its rival's "inferior and more modestly priced" models. The latest announcement comes several months after BMW originally won an injunction to stop Nissan from using the letter. The original injunction was later overturned on appeal.
Part of BMW’s problem is the difficulty in proving that there was a trademark infringement but that won’t stop it from appealing the latest decision, reports the Financial Post. Officials from Munich didn’t object to Nissan using the letter for the Infiniti "M35" and "M45" but when the Japanese carmaker ran an advertisement in Canada, which stated “the M is coming,” they decided to take action.
BMW’s only option now is to either petition the Supreme Court to listen to its case or reach an agreement with Nissan.
BMW loses ‘M’ battle with Nissan
August 8th, 2007
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August 8th, 2007
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August 8th, 2007
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Part of BMW’s problem is the difficulty in proving that there was a trademark infringement but that won’t stop it from appealing the latest decision, reports the Financial Post. Officials from Munich didn’t object to Nissan using the letter for the Infiniti "M35" and "M45" but when the Japanese carmaker ran an advertisement in Canada, which stated “the M is coming,” they decided to take action.
BMW’s only option now is to either petition the Supreme Court to listen to its case or reach an agreement with Nissan.
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Comments (6 total)
Meet the top commenters on the LeaderboardBy Renton #1, Posted: 8/8/2007
Nissan totally goes after BMW with its Infiniti line. Which is fine, in fact that is what I would use as my benchmark were I a car manufacturer. BMW is the gold standard of sport sedans.
That said, I feel Nissan was ASININE is choose the letter "M" for a model line of cars. BMW spent the last 30 years developing that moniker, and should be ticked off.
Not surprised liberal Canada could not find in BMW's favor.
By HECTOR #2, Posted: 8/8/2007
There are, what?, 26 letters in the alphabet? MB, for instance, has an A, B, C, E, G, M, R & S class. Then they have the combinations: GL, CLK, SLR, etc, etc. Are you telling me that BMW is going to sue MB over the M class? How about when Infiniti sued Audi over the letter Q? Where does the idiocy stop?
By admin #3, Posted: 8/8/2007
To be fair, Hector, they only sued when Infiniti said the "new M" is coming. I can believe some consumers would have been confused especially since BMW's M is such a unique brand.
By leo #4, Posted: 8/8/2007
If one cares about brand, they definitely know which one is bmw and which one is infiniti, if not, is it necessary to get nervous?
Is bmw m ruined only because Infiniti uses m? People who are easy to be brainwashed by ad and PR may think so.
By Jordon #5, Posted: 10/5/2007
What's wrong with Infiniti and all these other manufactuer???? If Infiniti uses like M45 or Q45 there really should be nothing sue them for but as for them they shouldn't have sued Audi.
By Si400 #6, Posted: 6/16/2008
Really it doesnt matter if people have similar names for their cars. If someone wants a BMW M3, they will get a BMW M3 or if they want an Infiniti M car they will buy one of those. Similar names wont really change or confuse potential buyers.
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