December 2008 – Page 5

Stumbled over this interesting / surprising thread on NorthAmericanMotoring, started by Mini Bee / Jack who I met at Mickey & MINI this year, enjoyed the MM3 video he created, and have some of his wonderful products, like this great T-shirt:

Jack starts off the thread back in October, saying:
BMW just issued a cease and desist for almost every design in my CafePress store … previously their guidelines stated the designs could not have the word “MINI” … now they have decided to change the guidelines to include use of images of MINIs

Of course he and all NAM readers were upset with the apparently heavy-handedness of BMW lawyers (reminiscent of 2003), and shocked that BMW would try to claim that even the IMAGE of a MINI is unacceptable!
Read on through the thread, though, and Jack writes:
I called the attorney representing BMW in this issue and he had someone call me back the same day. He was very polite and willing to listen to my concerns … he admitted they have not seen the designs so he asked me to send the designs to him for review. No guarantees this will change anything but I was very pleased they were willing to listen …

And finally, a somewhat reasonable outcome:
I just spoke to the BMW attorney to go over the guidelines. It’s official…nearly all the designs in my store will be available again after some work by me and COOPERation … I have to remove the bmw word marks from all titles and descriptions (mini, mini cooper, bmw) … on the owner’s club designs the faux MINI wings at the top of the current design will have to be removed …
I’m still a little shocked at the pleasant resolution of this issue. I was optimistic but this result has exceeded my expectations …

Although, it’s somewhat crazy that BMW / MINI continue to ban all use of the four letters M-I-N-I! If you’re thinking of selling any MINI-related product, it’s probably worth checking out the BMW CafePress guidelines page that Jack links to, which says (partly):
No use of any BMW group logos, including but not limited to … MINI Wings Logo
No use of any BMW group word marks, including but not limited to … MINI, Mini Cooper, Mini United (see how they “sneak” lower case “mini” in to their list?)
If the item bears an image of BMW Group vehicle, whether a photograph or drawing, it can only be sold if the image does not focus on any BMW Group logo …
BMW clubs or members may not sell club related or BMW merchandise …

While these are CafePress restrictions, you’ve got to think that next, BMW might push these rules further in to the community – what will that mean for the various major MINI events (like MOTD, AMVIV, MOT)?

Yesterday we spent time at Disney Hollywood Studios; we wanted to try the new Toy Story Mania ride which is very popular, so we got to the park even before it opened, but still with all the queues we didn’t get to FastPass ride for 1-1/2 hours! It was well worth the wait! The ride simulates various shooting arcades in a fun fair, with display screens and 3D glasses – you knock ducks over with shooting balls, shoot rings over alien heads, and basically try to get as high a score as possible … so far, Ian wins 🙂

Next we had lunch in the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, then headed home for a few hours:

In the evening we returned to the park to repeat Toy Story Mania – but the ride was shut down! So instead we enjoyed a holiday lights special at the USA street facades, called The Osborne Family Spectacle Of Lights, with many other people; the Osborne Family originally had many of these holiday light displays in their home, and now every few minutes Disney animates them, pulsing them in time to holiday music (I should have had a video camera with me!); Disney also makes it “snow”: