MINIUSA Legal, MCO, and Boycotts

Sections: Uncategorized Aug 6th, 2003 17 Comments

Since the news of BMW/MINI's legal action against sites such as MINI Cooper Online broke this week many of us have been dealing with the unthinkable idea that this company that we have all come to know and respect has some how turned against us.

In situations like this we really get to see the power of the web at work. Since the story was posted on an MCO forum it has been read over 16,000 times and has 22 pages of replies. Further just 24 hours since the petition was created it has just under 1000 signatures. There's no doubt that the word is getting out and getting to BMW/MINI.

So the question in-front of the MINI enthusiast now is what else can be done? A group of posters over at MCO and other sites have now begun to pass around the idea of a boycott of all Motoring Gear and MINI_Motion products. As noble of an effort that may be I'm not entirely sure I personally will go down that path.

First off by boycotting MINI Motoring Gear you're mostly hurting your local MINI dealers parts counter and not MINI corporate. Sure they also make money on apparel sales but not to the extent that the dealers rely on it.

Secondly boycotting the MINI_Motion line isn't really going to drive the point home either. MINI_Motion is a very limited edition line of apparel that will be only available at a handful of retailers around the world. Most of us will never see a piece from the MINI_Motion collection in our lives let alone be able to buy one.

So what is a good Motorer left to do about this situation? Well first and foremost write or call BMW and MINI a long, intelligent letter on why they are making a mistake by going after brand building and MINI community building sites such as MCO. Secondly sign the official MCO petition that has been created for MCO. Finally lets be patient. Large corporations don't move fast and they don't react immediately favorably to bad news or sudden negative opinions. Lets give MINIUSA some time to digest all that has happened in the last several days. I've never seen a car company back down in situations like this but somehow I have faith in MINIUSA and really believe that the people at the top are, at their core, auto enthusiasts that want what we all want.

Personally, I've signed the petition, written several emails, and am I'm going to try to help the cause as much as I can with my site. If there's anything that you've done or plan to do that you consider constructive and in the spirit of the MINI community lets hear about it!

Written By: MF Staff

http://revorg.org/mini.html Scott

It's not hard to boycott Mini_Motion or Mini Motoring Gear. The prices approach the unreasonable.

Perhaps the answer to this is civil disobedience. Everyone should get a domain with Mini in it, and provide links to our favorite vendors. BMW might find it hard to chase us all. Guerilla warfare at it's finest!
http://bridger.us/mini Gabe

Yeah I can understand the limited edition MINI_Motion being pricey but I seem to remember MINI Motoring Gear being described as reasonably priced in one of the early press releases. I guess the definition of reasonably priced means different things to different people.
Frank

Our current '02 Cooper CVT is completely paid off so the car is an absolute keeper. And the answer to the original question is yes, we will continue to purchase MINIs (Or even BMW's) for years to come, including accessories and services. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my '04 MCS in October.

I am sorry but as much as I support Mark and his efforts to keep this site going and how much I am in disarray with BMW NA's “Legal team” we are not going to jump into the boycott bandwagon. I understand how the majority of you seem to feel so passionate about the trademark and domain name situation but that still will not make us forgo MINI's products and services.

It seems to me that people sometimes feel the need to belong to a group or a “cause” so badly that they completely lose vision of the immediate objectives and take onto extreme positions (Like the lawayers at BMW) like debadging cars (Induced damage) or even silly boycotts.

Everybody is entitiled to their opinion but as far as I am concerned MINIUSA deserves the chance to respond back and that, according to what I have read here, will not happen until August 12th
Markus

I agree with you Gabe that it is best to try and be constructive in our criticism of BMW of NA coprorate. To that extent I would like to suggest a solution to BMW of NA and sites like MCO: Recognizing the desire of BMW corporate to protect their brand name (even though the mere thought that MCO is diluting brand name recognition is so silly) and the need to retain control of the use of the term “MINI”, I suggest that BMW of NA license the use of the term “MINI” to sites such as Minicooperonline for a nominal fee of $1 per year, subject to registration of such sites with BMW of NA. Apparently, VW of NA now pursues such a policy successfully. Respectfully, Markus
http://f1.pg.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/pchurnock@sbcglobal.net/lst?.dir=/BMW&.view=l Paul

I feel that this is corporate heavy-handedness at its best. I plan to fight for Mark and MCO kicking and screaming until the bitter end, and I hope you do too.

All MINI owners should go to:

http://f1.pg.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/pchurnock@sbcglobal.net/lst?.dir=/BMW&.view=l

and place the sign in your car so that the general public can be aware of BMW's tactics and attitudes. To allow BMW to subtitly undermine and impose themselves is to let them justify themselves with all the other corrupt corporations participating in these activities.

I find it humorous that this corporate monster links from their links page directly to Gabe's post regarding BMW vs. MCO.

-Laclede

Don't let them get you down, kick back!!!
David

This whole thing is silly, but important. The most effective approach is to email and snail mail BMW/MINI USA and let them know that this crackdown is counterproductive to their ambitions for MINI. After all, MINI is just a car. (No flames please). A 4 cylinder car with some serious drivability issues. The real difference between MINI and say the Ford Focus or the Mazda MP3 is really just marketing and the special feeling MINImaniacs have to this little car. If we impress upon BMW the importance of websites such as Mark's in promoting their “brand identity” we might have a chance for them to call off their low-life lawyer scum. After all, they're just trying to justify their outrageous billable hours.
http://www.matthewgifford.com/ Matt

Not to start a flamewar, but what serious drivability issues are you referring to, David?
Harold

Funny there were no lawyers or corporate types wanting to sue anyone when mini-skirts were so popular. It was hard to do with eyes and mouths wide open. Welcome to the world of litigation. Let's find someone to sue no matter how trivial. It seems to me BMWNA would be wanting the brand name to get any and all free WEB advertising. How about working on getting the MCS better, so I don't have to drive three hours to have the cruise control and broken windshield repaired. Go back to sleep Goliath.
Victoria

I've written my letters and signed the petition, and as I haven't the scratch to buy nonessential gear, I guess I've been boycotting the products anyway :) The real problem here is the fundamental disconnect between Legal and Marketing, where Legal refuses to acknowledge that a little infringement can be a good thing, and where Marketing can't or won't make a cogent argument to Legal to defend the sort of support that MCO and other sites provide to the products' promotion. If fans of the MINI were somehow able to provide metrics to demonstrate to BMWNA Legal that on the whole, grassroots support helped rather than harmed the MINI name, I'd be willing to bet they'd be less strict about TM enforcement.
Steve Rosenblum

I agree with Victoria.. Very well said. Hopefully this can get resolved quickly and we can all get back to enjoying our cars.
Brian

This whole thing makes me think of the South Park episode where the boys are trying to recover their Ocomma Gamesphere, and I quote: “don't care…don't care…don't care.” All that's left to do is smile.
http://www.www.dot.com.com JT

I haven't had my MCS that long, so I'm not really convinced that it's that great/special of a car. I had my Miata for 14 years and nearly 278,000 miles, and enjoyed almost every minute of it. At least Mazda didn't have a cow with Miata sites, including http://www.miata.net coming on-line and discussing issues about the car.

I'm hoping to do the same thing with the Cooper S, but I'm also afraid of seeing the Porsche syndrome when it comes to repairs (Labor rates: Volkswagen: $50/hr, Porsche (pronounced “porsh”): $600/hr, Porsche (pronounced “porsh-uh”): $100/hr).

This combined with the legal attitude of the company regarding enthusiast sites leads me to believe that this is not a car I want to invest a lot of money or time into as it may not be worth it in the long run.
Vanwall
This is EXACTLY what happened to Ford, Chevy, and other brands a number of years ago, and the Manufacturer's ran the table, shutting down or otherwise disciplining a large number of enthusiast groups and aftermarket suppliers. It's their product, and they call the shots, unfortunately. I'm pretty much reconciled to BMW doing pretty much what they want to, and hopefully they won't be too heavy handed anymore, and I signed the petition hoping they'll sit up and take notice of the loyal owners they have created. Here's hoping…..
```
     BCNU,
   Rob in Dago
```
JT

oops, that should be $60/hr for the “porsh” labor rate :-)
http://bridger.us/mini Gabe

JT – I'm truly saddened to hear that. I firmly believe that the MINI is one of these cars that comes a long once in a lifetime that defies a segment and creates an entirely new culture based around it – much like the Miata did in the early 90's or the original Mini did in the 60's.

Here's to a long and enjoyable MINI ownership experience (glasses clink).
JT

Believe me, I would like it to be like that. I also have a 1961 (one of the last) Austin-Healey Sprite Mk 1 (aka Bugeye Sprite), which I have had for nearly 20 years. It's a great car! I am hoping that the MINI Coper will be just as enjoyable.
Maxwell (Chitown COOP)

Clink!

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