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.