Filed under: Government/Legal, BMW, Infiniti, Nissan
Nissan beats BMW in battle over "M"
Click over and get your Sesame Street fix. You know you want to.
A Canadian court just ruled that the letter "M" does not belong to BMW, so it has decided to change its name to "BW." Just kidding. BMW Canada had sued Nissan Canada in a bid to stop the Infiniti brand from using the "M" model designation on its mid-level vehicles. BMW has been using the letter "M" to signify its top-performing models for decades and felt its use on Infinitis was confusing to customers.
Actually, BMW called Infiniti vehicles "inferior and more modestly priced." That should have put Nissan in its place, but no, Nissan fought back. And the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal is siding with Nissan, ruling that it's free to use the letter "M", as well.
This recent judgment in Nissan's favor overturns a previous one that went BMW's way and blocked Nissan from using the letter. Nissan was this close to changing its name to Missan. There we go, cracking wise again. Seriously though, BMW has the Supreme Court available if it still wants to fight.
Today's post was brought to you by the letter "M" and the numbers 3, 5, 6 and sometimes 4.
[Source: Canada National Post]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1337 5:37PM (8/08/2007)
"Inferior and modestly priced," hmm. Does this remind anyone of the time when an executive from BMW Australia said that Audi is not a competitor to BMW?
It seems like BMW management is to blame for the snobby, yuppie stereotype. (I like BMW cars, but I can't deny the presence of this stereotype.)
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Maverick 11:54PM (8/09/2007)
Whats funny about this ( btw I would never buy an Infinity) but I read an auto review recently of the new BMW 3 hard top convertible and not only did they infer that it was cave man like but it got stuck in mid air. So much for inferior.......
Don 8:42PM (8/08/2007)
I suggest they drive the new G37 coupe.
aman 5:44PM (8/08/2007)
I live in Canada and I have heard NOTHING of this
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416Hammy 8:30PM (8/08/2007)
I live in Canada and I have heard of this. You do not get a gold star.
aman 11:14PM (8/08/2007)
I'll live
aman 5:44PM (8/08/2007)
I live in Canada and I have heard NOTHING of this
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MrFuNKy 5:44PM (8/08/2007)
BMW "M" cars are the ONLY "M" cars.
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JC3 5:49PM (8/08/2007)
They are inferior.Not in a bad way, BMW's are just better.Definetly not equal, and that's a fact.
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Bobby 5:55PM (8/08/2007)
As long as the monikers are not confusing customers intentionally or unintentionally, both companies should be able to use the letter M.
If an autoblog enthusiast is confused as to which car is which, i feel bad.
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djSyndrome 5:56PM (8/08/2007)
I can't wait until those two start fighting over the letter 'Z'.
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jg 7:04PM (8/08/2007)
When you see an ad campaign from BMW that states, 'the new Z' then the lawsuits will happen. The problem wasn't Infinity using the letter M it was how they were using it. Picture Pepsi commercials that end 'Drink Pepsi and Grin'. If you owned Coke would you notice a competitor came awfully close to saying 'Have a Coke and a Smile? Would you sue?
stefan 6:09PM (8/08/2007)
Nissan has been using the letter Z long before BMW.
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SOhp101 6:39PM (8/08/2007)
I think that was djSyndrome's point.
Scott 6:17PM (8/08/2007)
What about Infiniti suing Audi, and winning, over the use of the Q model designation? Seems awful hypocritical.
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Patrick 6:28PM (8/08/2007)
Audi won, hence the Q7 and upcoming Q5.
Scott 6:30PM (8/08/2007)
They didn't win ... they settled out of court.
BartMack 7:28PM (8/08/2007)
This whole thing just makes me want to go "MMMMMMmmmmmm....."
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vectorbug 7:43PM (8/08/2007)
I'm actually pretty surprised.
I'm also a little surprised by how "bloggish" the article is, for a site thats trying to convince people its a serious auto news site. =\
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Tanster 8:36PM (8/08/2007)
it does say autoblog don't it?