News

Ford stops Ferrari in its tracks

Acting in the US district court in Detroit, Ford Motor Co filed trade mark infringement litigation action against Ferrari, protesting that Ferrari’s use of the name ‘F150’ for its latest Formula One racing car is an infringement of Ford’s trade mark for its F-150 pick-up truck.

In the automotive industry, it is common practice for manufacturers to use both the marque and model name together when referring to a particular vehicle (for example, BMW X5, Audi TT or Jaguar XF). However, it is generally accepted that many car enthusiasts often use just the model name (for example, the X5, the TT or the XF).

In the action, Ford claimed that Ferrari named its new racing car the ‘F150’ to “capitalise on and profit from the substantial goodwill that Ford has developed in the F-150 trade mark”.

Responding to the complaint, the Italian manufacturer stated: “Ferrari believes that its own contender in the forthcoming F1 championship cannot be confused with other types of commercially available vehicle of any sort whatsoever, nor can it give the impression that there is a link to another brand of road-going vehicle.” It claimed that the racing car was “named to mark the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification.”

Ford and Ferrari have now settled the dispute, with Ferrari agreeing only to use the official Italian name for its car – Ferrari 150° Italia.

Commenting on the case, Helga Chapman said: “This is an interesting example of sub-brands (F-150, F150) being used independently of the main brand (Ford, Ferrari) – there is no likelihood of confusion between ‘Ford F-150’ and ‘Ferrari F150’ due to the strength of the main brands, but when the sub-brands are used alone, they are very similar. It illustrates the importance of trade mark infringement clearance searching before launching a new brand and also highlights the need to do this for sub-brands that may be used independently of the main brand.”

For more information, please contact Helga Chapman.