I hope BHIMT has good intellectual property lawyers. This month's Sports
and Classic's had a piece on BMW enforcing their trademark rights as to a
small Mini specialist in England. If they want to get mean about it, it
could result in a long and messy legal battle, not to mention acrimony
between BMW and the Trusts, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the
Trust pay it's operation from a largess from BMW (or who ever happens to own
Rover at the time)? Does the Trust exist separate from the parent company?
Ken Gano
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-triumphs@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-triumphs@autox.team.net]On
Behalf Of John Macartney
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2000 2:10 PM
To: Leon Guyot
Cc: Triumphs List; Friends of Triumph
Subject: NT: BMW/Rover
Leon Guyot wrote:
My friends, you may think that this story doesn't perhaps impact on you and
your Triumph cars, but don't you believe it. The name Triumph, your spare
parts, and the licence to produce them, is wholly owned by messrs BMW...
Leon, for as long as BMW holds the purse strings, I would agree. What many
fail to realise
is that all former trademarks (and these are still registered and as current
in terms of
authorised for commercial use or violation as that of IBM or McDonalds)
would eventually
revert back to BMIHT if BMW pulled out altogether. If that does happen, and
the world will
know tomorrow, those trademarks revert back to BMIHT. When the Trust was
formed in 1975
which is personified in the existence of Gaydon and everything within it,
that means
trademarks, vehicles and the archive in its many forms are inviolate. Under
British Law,
these belong to everyone and no-one at the same time. This means that BMW
can never claim
their absolute ownership. What's more, all 25 million engineering drawings
in the archive
at Gaydon remain BMIHT property in perpetuity. Gaydon and the Trust which
administers it
is part of the "accompanied luggage" that comes with Rover. It was precisely
with this
eventuality in mind that Leyland Cars set up British Motor Heritage Limited,
together with
the Trust and the Charity within it, when the collection was first formed in
1975.
Jonmac
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