BMW AG corporate logo requirements.

[Dizerens5]

I have the answer. This site should call itself:
The unofficial forum for owners of a German-built boxer twin which is not a Zundapp or an IFA and which has a model identification number somewhere between R64 and R66.
At least it would attract a lot of attention and sympathy!

[Justin B.]

I have some other ideas but since I try to keep the joint "family friendly" I'm not at liberty to discuss them...  [smiley=lipsrsealed.gif]

[Julio A.]

Give me something to put on the first and if you like, the second line.  

[Warthog]

Are there any patches let I'll take two if any are left.

I'm with the Pike Peak BMW Riders and we are being told that we have to call our selves Pike Peak Riders.  We can not use BMW in our club name.

I was also told that we can not use anything similar to the center portion of the rondel either, although I'm told it is actually very similar to a mark used in engineering called a working point.

[nhmaf]

Warthog -

Actually, I think that things are better spelled out now than they were in the recent past.   You *can* use the letters "BMW" in you clubs name, specifically if you form a CHARTERED CLUB which is affiliated to one of the (3) recognized North American BMW motorcycle club "umbrella" organizations:  BMWMOA, BMWRA, or BMWCCA       I would suggest you consider forming your club as a chartered club within the BMW RA group, as it seems that their requirements are the least demanding and the annual cost is less than being a BMW MOA chartered club.   In being such a club, you hve rules to live by - rules which are imposed both by the BMW corporate agreement with the umbrella groups and rules which are specific to the individual umbrella groups themselves.   But, it is doable.    The rules for "virtual groups" (which we would/could consider here for the R65 team) vary by umbrella group as well as for the "real" chartered regional groups.
Here is a link to the summary rules for the BMW MOA group requirements including BMW corporate ID specification items:
http://bmwmocm.com/Downloads/logoMOAletter.pdf

As well as the BMW RA charter guidelines:
http://www.bmwra.org/download/CCGuidelines.pdf

As I understand it, unless your club is a chartered club belonging to one of the aforementioned "umbrella" groups officially sanctioned by BMW corporation, then no, you are not (legally) given permission to use the BMW name or symbol in your club.  Whether or not BMW corp lawyers ever decide to pursue the matter with a non-affiliated, non-conforming club is probably a matter of visibility, time, and money.

[darrylri]

nhmaf has it right.  You don't have to change your club name, but you might have to reformat it for the official logo.  The Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners, for example, comes out as

BMW Club
Vintage Motorcycle Owners

The MOA's club liaison Paul Mulhern is helping MOA charter clubs to get their logos certified.  I think that they are actually helping to create acceptable logos for the clubs given a signet design.  

And BMW's lawyers do have the time and money to go after nonconforming club logos.  Apparently the former Washington DC Vintage BMW Riders got into a tangle with the lawyers; have a look at their Yahoo Groups page now:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/DC_BMW/

[Warthog]

Pikes Peak BMW Riders is chartered by both MOA and RA.  Looks like ours will come out like this:

BMW Club
Pikes Peak Riders

I will be interesting to see how all the clubs that use elements of the rondel in their signets will change.

[Dizerens5]

I don't really understand all this. BMW's lawyers are so enthusiastic about protecting the company's image that they are happy to sue completely inoffensive clubs or forums if they don't subscribe to some company-approved overall organisation, but when there are critical reviews or magazine articles about problems with new bikes, which can really harm the company's reputation, they do nothing. And there have been plenty such criticisms recently.

[darrylri]

The lawyers CAN do nothing about poor products and bad reviews.  But if BMW (or any corporation) doesn't vigorously protect their "IP" (intellectual property), they will lose it.  It doesn't matter how inoffensive or even pro-company the use is, it has to be properly licensed.  

Harley does the same thing, but they license their IP very freely.  (They also own HOG, the owners group.)  The latest incarnation of Indian is apparently going after some of the more blatant uses of their IP, too.

[Dizerens5]

Understood. But when does a group of people - let's say, owners of R65s - become a "sue-able" entity? Presumably two or three friends can go on Facebook, for example, and say they are BMW owners, without it raining lawyers? Or not?