Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh
Quote:
Originally Posted by cooolone2
WTF!???
Torque Specs aren't a protected trade secret! And neither is working on your own vehicle! As a matter of fact, this could very well be considered a restraint of trade as preventing owners from working in their own vehicles with the free exchange of information. Problem would be if the site was making "any" $ from the exchange of information and if so, even from advertising, then BMW would have a right to shut it down.
Is crazy though, can't tell you how many forums and such with my other and older vehicles that I've learned, educated myself from and been able to perform untold repairs and mods to my cars.
So is YouTube going to be challenged next? How about Google searches? This is absurd!
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NewTIS.com was infringing on BMW copyrighted intellectual property; it's completely 100% understandable. The information is worth hundreds of millions of dollars to BMW. I'm sure Bentley had a lot to do with this as well as BMW.
People have been repairing automobiles for generations using printed repair manuals distributed by publishing companies that purchase rights to publish BMW's (or any manufacturer's) repair information. This isn't the end of the world. YouTube and Google are not on BMW's target list. LOL. |
This is a horrible move by BMW as it will cost them millions of dollars in lost sales.
BMW sales strategy is built around selling a vehicle twice (Lease first, CPO second). A lot of CPO and third owners are also into DIY for repairs/maintenance. Having to rely on a shop or forbid an expensive dealer with their ridiculously high BMW mandated overhead will drive these owners away from the brand. Consequently used car values will suffer which will reduce residuals on leases making the car more expensive for the initial buyer.
BMW also makes a ton of money on parts. Indy shops and Euro-parts houses (FCP Euro, ECS Tuning, etc) will buy less parts from BMW as well.
Another thing is that even if an owner wasn't into DIY, resources like newTIS allow for confirmation of parts required for a job. For example take spark plugs which typically single-use TTY bolts must be removed and replaced.. Without sites like newTIS an owner might not be aware of that requirement.
What's next? Automakers banning OBD2 readers?