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BMW is a for-profit business. MIT is a non-profit educational institution.

I'll agree that copyright in the digital era is a mess, but the line in this case is fairly clear. Yes, fair use (regarding parodies/satires) is convoluted, but the general rule makes intuitive sense to me: unless your parody is blatantly for-profit/self-advancement, you're covered.

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So, what if BMW kicked the BMWCCA a few bills to make a "parody" video of their own?

It's up to judges to decide if they have broken the law and if it's an actual commercial.

You can't just claim an advert is a parody and get away with it, it has to be an actual parody.

A non-profit with $15b in total assets and endowments.

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/institute-endowment-figur...

And yet still a non-profit in actuality and intent.

Very true. But if a non-profit with $15b asked to license some of my IP for free I think I'd ask for some cash.

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