BMW Want 1000 for infringement BMW's intellectual property rights

[kirkie]

I put a mini moto on my website which is made in china and has a BMW logo on it here is the picture http://acimg.auctivacommerce.com/img...mg/2753569.jpg

Dear Mr ****

Thank you for your email and for confirming that the BMW mini moto bike has been removed from your website.

I attach an amended version of the undertakings which my client requires that you sign before this matter can be concluded. You are required to sign both in your personal capacity and on behalf of your company/business. Please clarify the entity which is responsible for the website and we will amend the sections in square brackets accordingly. You will see that I have expressly acknowledged in the undertakings that you may not have made any sales of the bike in question.

On the issue of legal costs, as you have infringed BMW's intellectual property rights by offering the bike for sale through your website (whether or not you actually made any sales), BMW does require you to pay its legal costs. These currently stand at approximately £1,200. If you sign and return the undertakings and payment is made within the next seven days, BMW is prepared to accept £1,000 from you, on the basis that you then provide the witness statement set out in the undertakings. If further correspondence on this point becomes necessary, the amount my client will be prepared to accept in settlement of its costs will obviously increase.

Please can I hear from you by no later than 4:00pm on Wednesday 3 November 2010 with your signed undertakings and proposals to pay my client's costs.

Yours sincerely



I sent them an email

Hello, thanks for your email.

As I stated in my last email the bike has been removed from the site, and will not be put on the site again.

I have done as you asked and I cannot to pay any costs as you state in the previous email.

The bike has been removed and will not be placed back on the site.

Thanks for your co-operation in this matter.

Kind Regards

***


Any opinons on this matter?

[GreenBean]

I'd expect them to come back & say 'tough, we still want money.' Do wish you had posted before contact with them. There's a certain way to tell them what to do

[kirkie]

yes maby i should have. just think there a joke they way the expect 1k just like that..

[GreenBean]

Tis a bluff. They can be antsy though. Hope it goes OK

[kirkie]

email sent to you

[jeffweico]

I am not 100% clear on this. Was the law firm claiming that this was NOT a BMW product, or were they saying that you are not an authorized dealer, so you did not have permission to use their photo?

The latter would seem harsh to me.

[MadSam]

If you were actually selling these and they were counterfeits from China then they are one of the most dangerous you can get. The engines are in fact made with chain saw engines that are extremely dangerous. I remember a big police bust in London a few months ago. Someone had imported a shipment container of those bikes and sold about 20 to a kids party race track. One of them exploded while a kid was on it and nearly killed him and on another the chain saw motor started tearing up, that's why the police came down hard went after this guy's eBay account and he's now in prison. I don't do VERO and never did, I don't have a problem with the people that do but stay away from electrical/motorised appliances and drugs that are put together by people who don't know what they're doing and aren't qualified or product tested because they don't care about the end consumer who uses it. A copied label won't kill anyone but these do.

[rsot]

That is well-said Mad - lot of sick stories. Anything that you actually depend your life on and that is knock-off is a sick sick combination.

I don't really have opinion on the matter except in your case, I would not have responded except now that you have....well keep us posted and all the best.

[E-Nertia]

Yeah, I have seen a few Medical items (pills) on some Chinese wholesale sites and it really made me wonder how bad that could turn out.

[forummember]

Ignore, Ignore, Ignore.

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by jeffweico

I am not 100% clear on this. Was the law firm claiming that this was NOT a BMW product, or were they saying that you are not an authorized dealer, so you did not have permission to use their photo?

The latter would seem harsh to me.

More or less the later.

[jeffweico]

Madsam has shed some light here... I can see why BMW would not want their logo on any type of substandard product. If these bikes get around and someone dies, everyone will think it was because of a BMW product, and that REALLY tarnishes their name.

Of course, the investigation would prove out that the product had nothing to do with BMW, but by then the association is already in people's minds.

And even worse, if the buyer thinks it is a real BMW product, they would probably trust it since BMW is known to make safe products.

[forummember]

Never sign an undetaking as it always makes you liable in these cases for compensation. A lot of these contracts will bind you to paying X amount.

If this case goes to court then the 'ignorance is no excuse of the law' rule comes in, because you were unaware of what you were doing doesn't mean anything because the 'crime' you have committed would be classified as a 'strict liability' offence meaning that regardless of you knowing what you were doing it is still an offence.

You need to weight up your options, I personally would ignore it and hope for the best. I wouldn't even correspond.

Your case is different slighty because you are selling goods which could cause injury or harm to people. This kind of thing is crazy and I would advise you to not sell anything that could cause harm to someone.

You say that you never completed a transaction but by putting a the item for sale you have under British law 'invited someone to treat' which in other words means that you have invited someone to buy the item in question from you. You could argue that you never intended to sell the item and you were just 'showing' pictures of it along with a price (it all depends on how you wrote the listing).

Anyway, like I said before if I were in your position I would ignore it.

[kris]

Originally Posted by kirkie

Please can I hear from you by no later than 4:00pm on Wednesday 3 November 2010...

Am I the only one who thinks this grammer sounds a little strange for a lawyer?

[123]

Originally Posted by kris

Am I the only one who thinks this grammer sounds a little strange for a lawyer?

agreed i would ignore might be some nigerian lol

[rsot]

Naw the whole letter is somewhat gibberish and coupled that with e-mail - any lawyer knows that communication only counts as proof if registered AND delivered - either by bailiff or by registered mail.

The whole story is not even worth responding to.

[forummember]

Yes 'rsot' is right, you need to sign for the letter in order for the court to take in to consideration.

The whole situation is nothing more than scare tactics to try and get you to pay up.

[kirkie]

Yes, I got one more email from them saying that there sorry to hear my reply and that I will be hearing from them again.. I have not heard from them again

Didnt sell any of them bikes anyway.

Its all a learning curve

[forummember]

@Kirkie

Never admit anything.