Here's an excerpt From the Autoweek story:

Mini USA is playing hardball with a Mini owners-group Web site operator over the domaine name minicooperonline.com.

That's the view of site owner and operator Mark Ferguson, who created the site in 2002.

Ferguson, of Boulder, Colo., says he has been sparring with Mini (mini.com) and Mini parent company BMW's legal team since February regarding what to call the site.

The easy position to take is there's this bully company determined to stop this guy,” says Mini spokesman Michael McHale. “From a legal standpoint, if you don't protect what's yours, it's open for anyone to use.”

Ferguson, McHale argues, is free to trade but should not do so using the Mini name or names related to the car line.

McHale adds that Mini dealers pay hundreds of thousands to sell the small car. It's the trademarked Mini name at stake and operators should be “affiliated with us,” he says.

The site, which has 9,000 members, carries advertising from enthusiasts and about 20 aftermarket companies who want to reach each other – and Mini's powerful sales and marketing network. That the site accepts advertising is a fact Ferguson says he has admitted from the start.

…As a good faith effort, Ferguson says he plans to post this suggestion soon: northamericanmotoring.com.

Despite the troubles, Ferguson says he's still passionate about the car and the company. “At the end of the day, I want to provide a good information source for enthusiasts, the aftermarket community and be conduit for that and Mini.”

You can read the entire article in this weeks Autoweek or on the web here.