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BMW Taking on Eddie at BMW care

21K views 36 replies 19 participants last post by  BavarianCare 
#1 ·
Anybody read this in the paper on sunday? My dad rang and asked had I heard the name BMWcare.. I just bought the day access to sunday times to download it

BMW, which declared €834m profits for the second quarter of this year, has launched a High Court action against an Irish mechanic who specialises in repairing its cars.

The German manufacturer is seeking to gain control of Eddie Ronayne’s website, BMWcare.com, and to obtain a court order preventing him from “passing off” his business as being authorised.

Ronayne, who is expected to fight the case, denies BMW’s claims that he infringed its copyright or is passing himself off as an approved mechanic. “This matter is vital to my ongoing business surviving,” said Ronayne, who is based in Cloonfad, near the Roscommon border with Galway.

Ronayne has owned the website BMWcare.com since 2006 and registered BMWcare as a business name with the Company Registration Office that year. The one-page website says that he provides a “second opinion” and is “independent” and “beholden to no-one”.

The site claims to have saved some drivers “hundreds” in repair costs. Ronayne cites several endorsements from contributors on BMW-owner websites. Although Ronayne has not filed any accounts with the CRO under that name, it is understood he claims to make at most €25,000 a year from the business.

BMW has employed DFMG solicitors of Dublin, who specialise in intellectual property and copyright cases. On Friday the company filed a second High Court action against Maddocks Online, an independent dealership specialising in BMW motorcycles.

BMW said its case against Ronayne concerns alleged trademark infringement because of his use of the BMW name and logo. “BMW and its dealers invest a great deal in training and equipment in order to assure highest quality and service standards. BMW also strives to ensure that the use of the brand is consistent,” said a spokeswoman.

Large companies have a mixed record in legal actions where they have tried to stop other businesses using their logos. In 1999, BMW lost a case when the European Court of Justice found the “honest” use of trade marks by third parties was necessary to preserve undistorted competition.
 
#7 ·
BMW, which declared €834m profits for the second quarter of this year, has launched a High Court action against an Irish mechanic who specialises in repairing its cars.

The German manufacturer is seeking to gain control of Eddie Ronayne’s website, BMWcare.com, and to obtain a court order preventing him from “passing off” his business as being authorised.

Ronayne, who is expected to fight the case, denies BMW’s claims that he infringed its copyright or is passing himself off as an approved mechanic. “This matter is vital to my ongoing business surviving,” said Ronayne, who is based in Cloonfad, near the Roscommon border with Galway.

Ronayne has owned the website BMWcare.com since 2006 and registered BMWcare as a business name with the Company Registration Office that year. The one-page website says that he provides a “second opinion” and is “independent” and “beholden to no-one”.

The site claims to have saved some drivers “hundreds” in repair costs. Ronayne cites several endorsements from contributors on BMW-owner websites. Although Ronayne has not filed any accounts with the CRO under that name, it is understood he claims to make at most €25,000 a year from the business.

BMW has employed DFMG solicitors of Dublin, who specialise in intellectual property and copyright cases. On Friday the company filed a second High Court action against Maddocks Online, an independent dealership specialising in BMW motorcycles.

BMW said its case against Ronayne concerns alleged trademark infringement because of his use of the BMW name and logo. “BMW and its dealers invest a great deal in training and equipment in order to assure highest quality and service standards. BMW also strives to ensure that the use of the brand is consistent,” said a spokeswoman.

Large companies have a mixed record in legal actions where they have tried to stop other businesses using their logos. In 1999, BMW lost a case when the European Court of Justice found the “honest” use of trade marks by third parties was necessary to preserve undistorted competition.




sounds good,so why so many unhappy customers?if all of them would go to silicitors,BMW would never leave court,other dealers as well.
 
#12 ·
. “BMW and its dealers invest a great deal in training and equipment in order to assure highest quality and service standards.

sounds good,so why so many unhappy customers?if all of them would go to silicitors,BMW would never leave court,other dealers as well.
thats exactly the line i got from that aswell , i dont mean to tar them all with the same brush but any bmw dealership i have left my car with i have been far from happy with the results , i honestly think they have a mainly apprentices working for them , only good for oil changes ( im not slagging apprentices , i used to be one myself so i know what its like )

anyway best of luck Eddie .
 
#9 ·
I would imagine that Eddie will need to change his company name - given that another companies trademarked name makes up part of his. From hearing of prior encounters, BMW may want compensation for any profits he made trading under that name too.

They can be fairly ruthless when it comes to dealing with copyright infringement - I've been on the receiving end before.
 
#22 ·
Well said Dillon.

I'll just add to that- because the pot stirring thing ticked me off a bit- if somebody made derogatory comments about my family business I'd be unhappy to say the least- but if someone outlined a story which is true by facts, and not derrogatory against the business then it's fair game. I'm certainly not here to ruin Anyones reputation- and it's not like I wrote the story.

I refer to post number two where I said:

Obviously as the court case is ongoing, should be careful not to say or do anything which could prejudice the case. Just thought it was wothing putting up..
By putting this up is certainly not prejudicing the case, as it would never have been printed in a paper such as the Sunday Times if that was the case.

Back on topic anyway- it'll be interesting to see the outcome, either way it definitely reminds me of the saying- any publicity is good publicity.
 
#23 ·
I have to agree with the OP and Dillon. Eddie is respected for his skills and helpfulness on this and other forum's related to the blue propellor (I'm cautious to even name them in case I infringe their rights). Being attacked and interfered with in doing a good job by a deep pocketed entity is something we should know about. Eddie deserves support from members in any practical way we can.

On the topic of copyright, if BMW are getting picky, there are a number of sponsor splash ad's at the top and forum descriptions and threads with references to the brand that may not come under the banner of dispensation (fair use) that Ken refers to for the site.
 
#24 ·
@ Dergside, I agree with you in so far as Eddie deserves a bit of support. As i have said previous i have had no dealings with him but all i do know is he regularly comes on various fora and offers advice FOC, hence a bit of support and help (if we can do anything) wouldnt go astray.

Its my opinion that a) no where in this thread prior to your post above was support offered and b) I dont think supporting Eddie was the objective behind starting the thread, at least the opening post doesnt suggest that.
 
#26 ·
I dont think supporting Eddie was the objective behind starting the thread, at least the opening post doesnt suggest that.
Nope, your absolutely spot on with your point, the thread wasnt started to support BMWcare (I dont know him, I was just putting up an article to the news), but how you've come to the conclusion that it was in any way malicious based on my first point is laughable.



When you say a comparison between the websites is interesting, what do you mean?
 
#28 ·
That's awful news.

I have only spoken with Eddie a few times over the phone but I learned that he is really enthused about the cars and is very knowledgeable about them.

I wonder if this was sanctioned by someone in Germany, or was it purely down to BMW Ireland? It alienates customers and the very people that evangelise the cars.
 
#31 ·
New Trading Name

Following the decision of the Irish High Court in BMW AG v Edward Ronayne (trading as BMWCARE) on 19 December 2013

Eddie Ronayne's business as an independent, non affiliated specialist in the repair and care of BMW cars will trade as

BAVARIANCARE


Please update your email addresses to
bavariancare@gmail.com
bavariancare@eircom.net


Contact numbers remain unchanged:
086 8338866
094 9646100
 
#32 ·
Following the decision of the Irish High Court in BMW AG v Edward Ronayne (trading as BMWCARE) on 19 December 2013 Eddie Ronayne's business as an independent, non affiliated specialist in the repair and care of BMW cars will trade as

BAVARIANCARE

Please update your email addresses to bavariancare@gmail.com & bavariancare@eircom.net

- but all current email addresses will function until 12th January 2014.

Contact numbers remain unchanged:

086 8338866

094 9646100
 
#36 ·
If it's any consolation to you, I'd see the fact that BMW saw ye as enough of a threat to take you to court as a big positive. Also worryingly anti competitive too.

Haven't dealt with ye before but were ye any closer I would be.

Interesting to see Maddocks mentioned there as well. Had some great dealings with them in the past on the 2 wheeled side of things. Not much info about that case around though. So not sure what the grounds for that is.
 
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