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Infiniti looses M battle.... Infiniti looses M battle....
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  #1  
Old 03-21-2007, 11:52 AM
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Infiniti looses M battle....
Not sure what this is going to mean to the M35/45.....
Seems pretty silly to me, the usage of "M" has been quite different, with the possible exception of the loose usage of "M" in advertizing...


Quote:
Infiniti comes up empty in court battle against BMW over letter M
Published: Saturday, March 17, 2007 | 1:28 PM ET
Canadian Press

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."
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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.
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Old 03-21-2007, 12:04 PM
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Well fine..............
In that case Nissan should make GM remove the letter G. Since they did
copy the G from our cars on the Pontiac FWD.........POS!
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Old 03-21-2007, 12:04 PM
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Yeah, very silly indeed IMO. I personally think it's pretty sad that a company can trademark a letter of the alphabet.
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Old 03-21-2007, 12:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gary c
In that case Nissan should make GM remove the letter G. Since they did
copy the G from our cars on the Pontiac FWD.........POS!
Oh man you are soooo right with that one.... makes me evey time I see one.
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Old 03-21-2007, 12:40 PM
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Interesting ruling. From a marketing perspective I can understand BMW wanting to protect their own products and image. If Infiniti did not have an "M6" model and did not do any marketing for the "M"sans 35/45 then it may have been harder for BMW to make their case.

Hopefully for Infiniti this won't cost a ton of money. It may really hurt if they have to rebrand those cars.
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Old 03-21-2007, 12:53 PM
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It's funny, of course BMW is gonna attack Inifiniti now, since Infiniti is a threat now to BMW sales,lol.
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Old 03-21-2007, 12:54 PM
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Ridiculas. No one said crap when the 1st Infiniti was introduced here. The M30.
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Old 03-21-2007, 01:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Jeff92se
Ridiculas. No one said crap when the 1st Infiniti was introduced here. The M30.

I guess I don't know my Infinitis since the M30 is new to me.

The article didn't metion when BMW began this law suit.
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Old 03-21-2007, 01:44 PM
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Way back in 1990 or late 1989 when the Q45 was introduced
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Old 03-21-2007, 01:49 PM
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^thanks. That's interesting. I doubt the law suit goes back to that date.
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Old 03-21-2007, 04:24 PM
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Inifniti should also sue BMW for the 335. . .since the 35 can be misconstrued as referring to G35. G, 3. . .it's all so confusing to me!

Bah! Stupid legal extortion!

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Old 03-21-2007, 04:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by inTgr8r
Oh man you are soooo right with that one.... makes me evey time I see one.

you wouldn't beleive how many G haters love the stupid pontiac. idiots!! How could they like a pontiac over a G?
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Old 03-21-2007, 08:07 PM
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Originally Posted by b00stedjustin
you wouldn't beleive how many G haters love the stupid pontiac. idiots!! How could they like a pontiac over a G?

..............affordability???

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Old 03-21-2007, 08:15 PM
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If Pontiac made the GTO in a 4 door like the new G8 is going to be, I might be rocking a 400hp LS2 motor. Especially when those GTOs plummeted in resale and knowing another 40hp na is cam, headers, intake, ecu away.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Msedanman
..............affordability???

C.
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  #15  
Old 03-21-2007, 11:06 PM
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I think you guys are forgetting that Infiniti sued Audi for the letter Q, so this alphabetic crap is going on with both sides....

As for this court result, my understanding is that nothing will change for Infiniti, except in advertisements in which Infiniti can't simply refer to its cars as the M. I don't think this applies to the US though...
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