GM Sues Ford Claiming Trademark Infringement Over Branding Self-Driving Cars
The General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) on Saturday filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) for violating a trademarked hands-free driving technology name "Blue Cruise," Reuters reports.
GM says that Ford's use of the Blue Cruise name infringed on GM's Super Cruise trademark.
According to GM, Ford renamed its Co-Pilot360 automated driving system to Blue Cruise in April.
In a lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court Northern District of California, GM said, "If Ford wanted to adopt a new, unique brand, it easily could have done so without using the word 'Cruise'."
"Ford's decision to rebrand by using a core mark used by GM and Cruise will inevitably cause confusion," GM also mentions in the lawsuit.
GM has asked the court for an order to prohibit Ford from using the brand name and unspecified damages.
In response, Ford has called GM's lawsuit "meritless and frivolous."
In an official statement, Ford says, "Drivers for decades have understood what cruise control is, every automaker offers it, and 'cruise' is common shorthand for the capability."
In 2012, GM announced plans to use the name Super Cruise for its hands-free driver assistance technology. It has been marketing the technology using the brand name since 2017.
GM's Cruise self-driving vehicle unit has been operating since 2013.
In 2020, Ford started offering its Blue Cruise hands-free driving technology on its F-150 pickup.
The company is also offering Blue Cruise as an over-the-air software update on its electric Mustang Mach-E.
Photo: courtesy of General Motors.
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