Global automotive major General Motors Co is suing its competitor Ford Motor Co. for violating a trademarked driver-assist technology which is used for hands-free features, reports Bloomberg quoting a lawsuit.
The firm has taken the action to protect the Cruise and Super-Cruise brands following Ford Motors in April had renamed its Co-Pilot360 automated driving system as Blue Cruise. Despite the talks, consensus on the issue had been unsuccessful, GM said in court documents that was filed on July 23.
"The claim by GM is meritless and frivolous. Drivers for decades have understood what cruise control is, every automaker offers it, and ‘cruise’ is common shorthand for the capability,” the business website quoted Ford spokesman Mike Levine's statement.
However, GM alleged that 'Ford knew exactly what it was doing.' "If Ford wanted to adopt a new, unique, brand, it easily could have done so without using the word ‘Cruise’,” GM's file document with the U.S. District Court Northern District of California says.
Earlier, GM had introduced Super Cruise which lets drivers to take their hands off the wheel for brief periods, on the Cadillac CT6 in 2017. Following this, the automative had expanded this technology which allows the cars to change lanes on their own.
Apart from this, the feature also share a name with Cruise LLC. This is a self-driving car startup that’s majority-controlled by GM.
"While GM had hoped to resolve the trademark infringement matter with Ford amicably, we were left with no choice but to vigorously defend our brands," Bloomberg quoted GM statement.
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