biesel Posted February 3, 2023 Posted February 3, 2023 Did you know that the Piaggio Group is currently forcing forum and website owners and professional stores to remove the word Guzzi from their names? This is currently happening in Germany. Latest victim HMB Guzzi. This is done by lawyers hired by the Piaggio Group. 1 1
guzzler Posted February 3, 2023 Posted February 3, 2023 God, what next... Patent the exhaust note?? Cheers 4
docc Posted February 3, 2023 Posted February 3, 2023 2 hours ago, biesel said: Did you know that the Piaggio Group is currently forcing forum and website owners and professional stores to remove the word Guzzi from their names? This is currently happening in Germany. Latest victim HMB Guzzi. This is done by lawyers hired by the Piaggio Group. I thought HMB is a Moto Guzzi dealer? (Or no longer?)
activpop Posted February 3, 2023 Posted February 3, 2023 Overheard at a Piaggio board meeting... Lets see now..do a little more R&D, or hire some lawyers? 1
biesel Posted February 3, 2023 Author Posted February 3, 2023 HMB-GUZZI is specialized on Tonti parts. The owner is in progress now changing the name to HMB-MOTO to avoid trouble with Piaggio lawers. 1
Scud Posted February 3, 2023 Posted February 3, 2023 While that doesn't seem very friendly, there is legal need to maintain trademarks and not let them slip into the public domain. I would hope there are licensing terms where a shop can use Moto Guzzi in signage or advertising without claiming a business name that includes "derivative" or "confusingly similar" mark.
al_roethlisberger Posted February 4, 2023 Posted February 4, 2023 Yep, this happened on several forums I've perused over the years (decades). The Honda Pilot forum became "Piloteers" for a similar reason many years ago.
docc Posted February 4, 2023 Posted February 4, 2023 Makes me want to argue. But not with Italian New York lawyers. Breeding a new herd? First, kill all of the old bulls . . . 1
audiomick Posted February 4, 2023 Posted February 4, 2023 1 hour ago, Scud said: ... I would hope there are licensing terms where a shop can use Moto Guzzi in signage or advertising... I expect there is, but only for official dealers. The German language forum that I am involved in got hit too. We got a lawyer involved, and made the point that the forum is not commercial, and that using a trade name for non-commercial purposes is not illegal in Germany. €2.000 later, things have gone quiet, and we are assuming we are back off the radar. Mike at HMB is, however, commercial, but has no official connection to Moto Guzzi. He chose to take the route of least resistance, and change his domain name. There is another place, run by Martin Hageman, that is specialised in the "small block" Guzzis. Good bloke, good service, and well stocked with parts. His business name is "Guzzi e piu" (Guzzi and more). I noticed today that he seems to be changing his web adresses to "gpiu.de", where it has always been "Guzziepiu.de". Maybe he has been targetted too. There is a lawyers practice that has been contracted by Piaggio to search out instances of "Guzzi" on the interweb, contact them, and issue "cease and desist" demands. They first contacted the service provider for the above-mentioned forum, and then the chief admin of the forum whose name is on the bottom line of the forum. I gather Mike at HMB was contacted by the same bunch of lawyers. 1
activpop Posted February 4, 2023 Posted February 4, 2023 42 minutes ago, al_roethlisberger said: Yep, this happened on several forums I've perused over the years (decades). The Honda Pilot forum became "Piloteers" for a similar reason many years ago. I can see it now...the lemansters. 1 3
audiomick Posted February 4, 2023 Posted February 4, 2023 34 minutes ago, activpop said: .the lemansters. Uummm, no. There are definately better alternatives. 2 1
activpop Posted February 4, 2023 Posted February 4, 2023 13 hours ago, audiomick said: Uummm, no. There are definately better alternatives. I would hope so!
activpop Posted February 4, 2023 Posted February 4, 2023 There are many forums with trade names as their titles...Duramax, Ducati ms, etc. All these forums would seem to benefit the manufacturers but what do I know, I am just a simple carpenter. Could we see this happening all across the world? 1
LowRyter Posted February 4, 2023 Posted February 4, 2023 There's something wrong with that company. I've talked to a few dealers that have had issues with them, more than the other brands. I've heard that Aprilia is one of the worst. Now they want to go after their most enthusiastic customer base? What's next, the owner's club too? Hopefully the silliness will stop and won't affect the couple of forums that I participate.
LowRyter Posted February 4, 2023 Posted February 4, 2023 17 hours ago, biesel said: HMB-GUZZI is specialized on Tonti parts. The owner is in progress now changing the name to HMB-MOTO to avoid trouble with Piaggio lawers. oooh, this explains the e-mail I received today: HMB-GUZZI (info@hmb-guzzi.de)To:you (Bcc) + 1 more Details Dear customer, as of next week (week 6 2023) we have to change our internet access as well as our email addresses. The shop itself will remain unchanged, the existing customer/login data will continue to apply. The new shop address: www.hmb-moto.de The new email address: info@hmb-moto.de Until Sunday 5.2.2023 everything will remain as it is, orders will be processed normally. On Monday, the internet shop will not be accessible during the implementation. As soon as the shop is available again, we will inform you. This notification will then already be sent from the new email address info@hmb-moto.de. Michael -- Mit freundlichem V2 Gruss, Michael Behrendt HMB-GUZZI Zeppelinstr. 48 91187 Röttenbach Tel: 09172-669918 2 1 1
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