Ford Facing Lawsuit from GM Over BlueCruise Name
Photo: Ford
Back in April, Ford renamed its new hands-free driving technology BlueCruise. Fast forward to today, and that new name will face a challenge in court from General Motors.
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Just after midnight on Saturday, GM released a statement claiming that Ford’s new technology infringes on its Super Cruise trademark. According to Reuters, GM also alleges that the BlueCruise name infringes on the copyright of Cruise, the self-driving vehicle company in which GM has a majority ownership stake.
The lawsuit alleges that Ford knowingly selected the BlueCruise name to “cause confusion.” It suggests that Ford is looking to cash in on “the equity our products and technology have earned over several years in the market.” GM claims trademark infringement and unfair competition and seeks an order to stop Ford from using the name. The suit also seeks damages in an unspecified amount.
Ford calls GM’s BlueCruise suit ‘meritless and frivolous’
Ford dismisses the lawsuit as “meritless and frivolous.” In a statement, Ford said: “Drivers for decades have understood what cruise control is, every automaker offers it, and ‘cruise’ is common shorthand for the capability. That’s why BlueCruise was chosen as the name for the Blue Oval’s next evolution of Ford’s Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control.”
Mike Levine, Ford’s director of product communications, reiterated Ford’s stance on Twitter.
Ford had previously dubbed its hands-free feature Ford Active Drive Assist before changing it in April. The technology works on 100,000 miles of highways across North America called Hands-Free Blue Zones. The feature is called Lincoln ActiveGlide under Ford’s luxury brand’s banner.
Photo: Ford
Prior to announcing the suit against Ford, GM revealed that it will roll out an updated version of Super Cruise across six vehicles from the 2022 model year. That includes the GMC HUMMER EV, Sierra Denali, and Chevrolet Silverado.
Ford launches BlueCruise on its Mustang Mach-E as well as its all-new 2021 Ford F-150 later this year. Next year, the technology will feature in the all-electric F-150 Lightning.
On the plus side, if GM is victorious in its legal effort, Ford will have plenty of viable backup options for its technology. For example, Ford Blue Da Ba Dee Da Ba Drive is right there on the table.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.