GM Sues Ford Over Trademark Infringement: ‘No Choice But To Vigorously Defend Our Brands’

General Motors (GM) has filed a lawsuit against Ford (F) for using the name “BlueCruise” for its hands-free driving technology system.

The lawsuit was filed by GM and its robo-taxi subsidiary Cruise on Friday in a federal court in California.

In a statement obtained by Reuters, the automaker claimed that Ford’s use of the BlueCruise name infringes on the GM Super Cruise trademark as well as the Cruise trademark.

“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 and protect the equity our products and technology have earned over several years in the market," GM said.

GM contended that it held “protracted discussions” with Ford regarding the use of the Cruise name, but failed to resolve the matter.

GM alleges trademark infringement, unfair competition, as well as a request to order Ford from using the Blue Cruise name and unspecified damages.

GM said in the lawsuit: “Ford knew what it was doing. Ford’s decision to rebrand by using a core mark used by GM and Cruise will inevitably cause confusion.”

Ford responded to the lawsuit by saying that it was “meritless and frivolous,” according to Reuters.

“Drivers for decades have understood what cruise control is, every automaker offers it, and ‘cruise’ is common shorthand for the capability,” Ford said in a statement. “That’s why BlueCruise was chosen as the name for the Blue Oval’s next evolution of Ford’s Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control.”

Ford introduced the BlueCruise hands-free driving system in April, while GM announced that it would begin using the Super Cruise name for its hands-free driver technology in 2012. GM’s Cruise began operation in 2013.

Shares of GM were trading $55.59 as of 1:06 p.m. ET on Monday, up 65 cents, or 1.18%, while shares of Ford were trading at $13.95, up 13 cents, or 0.94%.