The Canadian Federal Court of Appeals has ruled that Nissan will again be able to use the letter 'M' in Infiniti automobile ads in Canada. Back in March, 2007 BMW won an injunction to stop Nissan from using the letter, claiming trademark infringement. BMW has used the 'M' designation to denote their line of high-performance versions of their vehicles since 1978 in Germany (and 1987 in Canada). However, the recent court ruling stated that BMW could not successfully prove a trademark infringement. From Left Lane News:
"BMW says the issue does not lie with the use of 'M' for the Infiniti
M35 and M45 models, but rather with a Canadian ad that uses the
tag-line, "the M is coming." According to Canada's National Post,
BMW claims the use of the letter confuses its brand with the "inferior
and more modestly priced" Infiniti brand cars. BMW's only recourse is
to petition the Supreme Court to hear the case or to reach an agreement
with Nissan."
Full story via Left Lane News.
Comments