Federal court M-pathises with BMW

[Dragon]

http://www6.autonet.ca/News/story.cfm?stor...3769969-cp.html

TORONTO (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.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Change the M to N (As In Nissan), and call it a day!

Nissan if you do, I will sue your A$$ in Canada for stealing my idea! :rotflmao:

Edited March 18, 2007 by Pontiac Custom-S

[balthazar]

Tho for the life of me I've never encountered the term 'M-car' in reference to the bmws, the ruling makes sense, esp when compounded by useage of 'M-car' and M6 by nissan. Dopes.

[Northstar]

Tho for the life of me I've never encountered the term 'M-car' in reference to the bmws, the ruling makes sense, esp when compounded by useage of 'M-car' and M6 by nissan. Dopes.

Huh? You've never heard of the M3, M5, or M6?

[VenSeattle]

Bring back the J!!!!!!!

[Variance]

This is stupid for several reasons:

1. "M6" is not the name of a G35 sport package. It refers to the 6-speed manual transmission you can get with the G35 Sport. I'm pretty sure Nissan isn't the only one that uses "M6" is that respect. They don't use the term "M6" in any sort of promotion or advertising.

2. What about Nissan's "Z" that way predates the BMW "Z"?

3. On the USPTO web site, whenever there a filing of an alphanumeric trademark there is a disclaimer that clearly states something along the lines of that you can't lay claim to a letter itself, only a far as the letter/number combination that's being filed.

In short, this lawsuit (and the ruling) was retarded.

[balthazar]

Huh? You've never heard of the M3, M5, or M6?

No- of course I've heard of those; but I've never heard the term "M-car" used by bmw.

[Nick]

2. What about Nissan's "Z" that way predates the BMW "Z"?

Well, not necessarily...The alphanumerics are in different orders...like 280Z or 350Z...BMW uses it like Z4 or Z3 (etc....), and they call the M-versions of those models "m-coupe" or "m-roadster".

It's a silly lawsuit to an extent because I don't think many people get the two confused, though I have heard the term "m-cars" used in reference to BMW's. It is pushing it just a bit.

[Flybrian]

Names are nice. Why not names?

[Oracle of Delphi]

Names are nice. Why not names?

I agree, for the love of God, give me names!

[Mr.Krinkle]

Names are nice. Why not names?

Consultants, Focus Groups and Lawyers.

Edited March 19, 2007 by Mr.Krinkle

[bobo]

"...which caused a likelihood of confusion..."

I don't think so. Is there a similar lawsuit in the U.S.?

[JT64]

So apparently you can patent letters in Canada.

And only BMW may use 6-speed manuals in Canada.

What a big win for BMW in Canada!

Either that or the judge never heard of transmissions, and this ruling will get immediately overturned.

Or the judge recently just began driving a brand new BMW M6.

Ironically, the BMW M6 is a 7 speed SMG, while everyone else's M6 is a 6 speed manual.

Edited March 19, 2007 by JT64

[Cory Wolfe]

This is stupid for several reasons:

1. "M6" is not the name of a G35 sport package. It refers to the 6-speed manual transmission you can get with the G35 Sport. I'm pretty sure Nissan isn't the only one that uses "M6" is that respect. They don't use the term "M6" in any sort of promotion or advertising.

2. What about Nissan's "Z" that way predates the BMW "Z"?

3. On the USPTO web site, whenever there a filing of an alphanumeric trademark there is a disclaimer that clearly states something along the lines of that you can't lay claim to a letter itself, only a far as the letter/number combination that's being filed.

In short, this lawsuit (and the ruling) was retarded.

Edited March 19, 2007 by blackviper8891

[91z4me]

Hmmm...something about this seems familiar. Oh yeah here it is from March 24, 2005.

http://www.igorinternational.com/press/det...ming-expert.php

A snippet:

Nissan North America Inc. -- which already has the Z, a cool sports car and what may be the coolest letter in the alphabet -- sued Audi of America Inc. Tuesday in a Michigan federal court over its planned use of the letter Q as a prefix to name a few new SUVs.