been reading quite a bit about BMW trying to, and sometimes succeding in closing down web sites using the word mini in their addys...found a petition about what was going on with over 2600 signatories.. apparently this has been happening in the UK and USA.. anyone have any personal experience or knowledge of BMW behavior.

We aren't MINI. We are ausmini. The 2 words are completely different.

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Typical BMW crap.

like MS did to that kid Mike Rowe and www.mikerowesoft.com

like what that book company does to anyone who puts "for dummies" anywhere.

This sh!t will only continue to get worse. The world is run by soulless lawyers, and corporations have far too much power for something that has no conscience.

...a little known law of physics: the presence of a sufficiently high concentration of lawyers creates a field impenetrable to common sense...

Unfortunately the only way to fight lawyers is with lawyers. Do we have any onboard who can defend the ausmini domain?

[Probably not now that I have insulted them all]

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"Life is not like a box of chocolates... it's more like a jar of jalapenos. Whatever you do today, may burn your arse tomorrow."

How about giving us some evidence of this instead of just making allegations.
We might want to add our names to the petition.

ok heres one item from the mini register... now can you provide any proof at all that BMW were "horrified" about the minis fate... come on fairs fair ..whats the bet there isnt any cos it was a decision based purely on ability to make money out of a well loved name..

also note i did not make any allegations, just said i had read this and asked if anyone had any experience of it.

Its hard to believe but BMW do not appear to have learnt anything from that very unpleasant episode prior to the launch of the New MINI. Their heavy handed campaign to force Mini specialists to change their identity if they used the word Mini in their company name, created such bad feeling that still exists to this day.

Well they are doing it again, this time in America were they are trying to force MiniCooperOnline to change their name. Suprise, suprise, they are getting the same reaction as last time but this time they are upsetting owners of the New MINI as well.

It seams incredible that they are prepared to endanger such a lucrative market. In the days of such a scientific approach to marketing, how can they not realise that having highjacked the "Mini Community" element and successfully transplanted it into their own customer base, any action of this nature is going to create significant upset - and upset leads to people not buying.

In the UK, the BMW solicitors have left such a bad taste that three years later there is still a large number of Mini enthusiasts who will not even try a MINI let alone consider buying one. This is a shame as although the new car is not a Mini, it is still a good, fun car.

If you wish to register your feelings on this matter, visit http://www.PetitionOnline.com/mco0803/ , it makes interesting reading with people expressing everything from disbelief that BMW could be so stupid to outrage that they should even consider such a move. As an indication of the level of feeling the petition has raised over 2000 signatures in less than a week.

frankly i'm not sure that BMW could do anything that could make you happy anyway. is there a car that they could have built that would in your opinion be a 'real' mini?

I actually agree that it is dissappointing when well meaning companies get shut down by BMW's lawyers, but it doesn't surprise me. Imagine how long you would last as Mercedez benz online or volvo online. Or for that matter Nike online, cocacola online, or KFC on-line.

when you put someone else's product name in your web address expect to hear from them. Mini cooper is a product name. always has been. the only thing that has changed is that BMW own it now instead of Rover/MG/Austin/British Leyland/ BMC or morris.

yes we all remember fondly when the product name was owned by oned by bmc, because bmc would let any tom dick or harry start up mini king, or cooper palace without any repercussions. they made absolutely no attempt to protect their very valuable interlectual property..................

but they went broke didn't they.

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anything is possible - if you don't know what you're talking about.

re read that again dude... that was your proof... not my words at all

you asked for proof, you got proof... then you dont like what you asked for .. so you make up something about how i might feel about the rest of the bmw opperation...
true i dont like the idea of germans owning a british icon.
true i dont think the bini is a mini
but i have no drama with any bmw cars in fact from what i know about them they are pretty good.. also i have stated b4 that i have no doubt the bini may well be a fun to drive car... but in my opinion it isnt a mini...
i have every right to have a point of view which you dont like, and that is a forum for people to express their feelings on the Bini.. so why get upset when I do just that..
Otherweise you could ask that that forum get renamed BIni lovers only allowed,, then i will keep my ideas out of it..

still waiting on proof of the Horror that BMW felt.......

What the?

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anything is possible - if you don't know what you're talking about.

in your usual accusing fasion you stated that BMW could probably do nothing to make me happy... but that ignorant statement was based on the quote from the UK MINI register that mcsmik asked for as proof of what i was saying earlier.. like i said read it again and you will understand...right back at the begining i asked if anyone had had experience of BMW heavy handedness with people using the mini name, and mcsmik wanted proof so i put it up
get it the quote you posted as my point of view was the proof mcsmik asked for..

What usual accusing fashion? you don't even know me. I've never accused anyone of anything in any of the (i don't know - about 10) posts Ive ever made.

That "ignorant statement" had nothing to do with any UK mini register, or anything MCSMIK wrote. I haven't even bought into that discussion. It was purely based on my observations that you obviously hate the car, and being honest, weren't going to like it no matter what they built (because it uses a mini name and isnlt the same as the old mini) you have virtually said so yourself.



The reason I responded to this with 'what the?' is that I didn't know whether you were directing it at me or MCSMIK. I never asked anyone to proove anything.

I read your post with the proof that MCSMIK asked for, and thought that that was proof enough for anyone. I had just accepted that BMW probably do take this sort of action. Nobody has to prove it to me. I thought that what you posted however would probably satisfy anyone who doubted. I agree with nearly everything you wrote in that post. (upsetting potential customers, not learning lessons, money making decisions etc etc etc)

I certainly never denied BMW had used heavy handedness, or defended their actions in any way. All I said is that it doesn't surprise me. Here is in fact what i did say:



I also said that it surpised me that BMC never took the same action because whether we like it or not most comanies do it.

So, you've either mis-understood me, or you're reading things into my posts that just aren't there. I wrtie long enough posts. I don't leave much out.

Mate, I respect your choice not to like the MINI. I assume you respect mine to love it. So how about we just leave it at that.

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anything is possible - if you don't know what you're talking about.

The problem as I see it is not comparable to Nike or someone taking down all the domains with nike in them, because nike is a made up word and well established brand.

Mini is a dictionary word. It is used is relation to a car that has been a household name for nearly half a century.

A large corporation is now attempting to make more money by changing the public perception & meaning for the word by throwing lawyers at the problem.

As usual, the little guy gets shafted.

I'm not only upset that BMW is doing this, but the fact that large corporates are able to take dictionary words (like Windows, and then some, ala mikerowesoft.com) away from use in the english language. The system sucks, he with the largest pockets wins.

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"Life is not like a box of chocolates... it's more like a jar of jalapenos. Whatever you do today, may burn your arse tomorrow."

yep agreed. good point re the dictionary words. One of the reasons the 386, 486, 586 series got changed to pentium. easier to protect.

I reckon if the domain name or business is not trying to pass itself off as being something its not there should be no problem. The judges need to say 'is there any way that people could get this confused with the company?' Could people go into fishing are us and think they are in toys R us. not really. Could someone who thinks Ausmini is BMW actually cost BMW aus any money?

Dissappoints me as much as anyone. Unfortunatley its here to stay though I reckon.

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anything is possible - if you don't know what you're talking about.

ps Nike isnt a made up name its the greek goddess of victory

maybe Greece should sue them.. haha

but sad facts "icon" or not.. if its for sale and someone bought it, end of story, they own it.. obviously it gets messy when they attempt to enforce the ownership on people 9 times outa 10 doing no actual harm to their business.. but if the "icon" had meant so much to people it wouldnt have been sold in the first place .. i think the original owners are far more to blame..it is a travesty that a german company now owns the rights..

bu i really do think it coulda been alot worse...t look at the "quality" of cars cars comming outa england the last 10 years or so.. especially rovers who are a general laughing stock and now import cars made in india , rebadge them and sell them there.. made in india Mini anyone? haha... i think alot worse things could have happened..at least now BMW had the sense to cash in on the lucratative name that they own and not jsut sit on it for almost 40 odd years