Ford to ask Patent Office to rescind ‘Cruise’ trademark from GM

Ford Motor Co said on Friday it will ask the U.S. Patent Office to take back the trademarks obtained by General Motors Co for the terms “Cruise” and “Super Cruise.”

This comes after GM sued Ford for using “Blue Cruise” for its automated driving system. Ford has argued that “cruise” is a generic term and cannot be used as trademarks by a company.

On July 24, GM had filed a federal suit against Ford accusing it of violating GM trademarks as Ford used the name “Blue Cruise” for its system which enables hands-free driving.

GM had trademarked the terms “Super Cruise” and “Cruise” for its hands-free, partially automated driving technology and its robo-taxi unit in San Francisco respectively.

Ford defended itself by saying, "Ford has no choice but to ask the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to rescind both of GM’s “Cruise” and “Super Cruise” trademark registrations that should have never been registered in the first place. Any number of companies use the word 'cruise' in connection with driver assist technology."

Ford cited examples of various companies using the term “cruise” including "Predictive Cruise," marketed by Mack Trucks; "Smart Cruise Control" marketed by Hyundai Motor Co, and Autocruise, used by auto supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG.

Reuters reported that GM said Friday that Super Cruise "has had a well established commercial presence since 2017," and added in a statement that the company "remains committed to vigorously defending our brands and protecting the equity our products and technology have earned over several years in the market and that won’t change."

(With inputs from Reuters)

Picture Credits: Reuters