cross-posted from : https://lemmus.org/post/20199206
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.
If you are not using a standard fastener you need to provide a lifetime warranty on whatever can’t be removed by standard parts. Lifetime means you need to escrow with a third party enough money to fix it in case you go bankrupt.