BMW loses ‘M’ battle with Nissan

BMW has lost a court battle in Canada to prevent Nissan from using the letter ‘M’ for what BMW describes as its rival’s «inferior and more modestly priced» models. The latest announcement comes several months after BMW originally won an injunction to stop Nissan from using the letter. The original injunction was later overturned on appeal.

Part of BMW’s problem is the difficulty in proving that there was a trademark infringement but that won’t stop it from appealing the latest decision, reports the Financial Post. Officials from Munich didn’t object to Nissan using the letter for the Infiniti «M35» and «M45» but when the Japanese carmaker ran an advertisement in Canada, which stated “the M is coming,” they decided to take action.

BMW’s only option now is to either petition the Supreme Court to listen to its case or reach an agreement with Nissan.