this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2026
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Adafruit: From Ultimate Driving Machine to Ultimate Rent-Seeking Machine: The BMW Logo Screw Patent.

If you haven’t already heard, BMW’s R&D teams have been busy “innovating.” Unfortunately, they aren’t focusing on the things that actually matter—like stellar engine performance or the legendary driving dynamics that gearheads love. Instead, the C-suite execs decided that the best use of their engineering budget was to design a proprietary security screw specifically intended to prevent BMW drivers from fixing their own cars.

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[–] CADmonkey@lemmy.world 15 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Harbor freight will have these weird screwdriver tips in a kit within 12 months.

[–] hildegarde@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 2 hours ago (4 children)

Proprietary security screws have existed for a long time. There's a reason they're using their logo, and its not vanity, its a weaponization of trademark law. Recreating the tip would mean recreating a trademark without authorization.

Few reputable companies will be willing to take that risk.

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 14 points 1 hour ago

Aliexpress will have one in about 2 weeks.

And they won't be worried about BMW's lawyers when they do it.

Right to repair class action suit incoming.

[–] CADmonkey@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

I'm not entirely sure some Chinese company that neither of us has heard of is worried about that risk.

[–] TheOakTree@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 hour ago

It'd be cool to see a compatible tip with some additional breakaway segments to bypass the logo law.