Ford filed a motion asking for the US District Court to dismiss a lawsuit by rival GM regarding Ford's BlueCruise self driving feature. GM filed a trademark infringement suit last month alleging that BlueCruise's name was too similar to Super Cruise, GMs hands-free driving technology, which it launched in 2017 as well as its autonomous vehicle subsidiary Cruise.
Ford stated in its motion that cruise was used to describe driver-assist technologies for 50 years. Ford claimed that consumers understand cruise to mean a feature that assists with driving or performs part of a driving task. They don't associate the term with any particular company or brand.
GM filed a lawsuit on July 23rd claiming that the two companies had been in lengthy discussions about the name, but could not agree to a settlement. Ford knew exactly what it was doing according to GM's complaint. GM also claimed that Ford could easily adopt a unique brand without using Cruise if it wanted.
BlueCruise was the name Ford chose for its hands-free driver assistance feature. It was announced by Ford in April and stated that it would start pushing the feature through an over-the air software update to selected vehicles this year.
Ford spokesperson said that it considered GMs trademark claims frivolous and meritless. He also stated that drivers have known for decades what cruise control is and that every automaker provides it. Cruise is a common abbreviation for such features. Ford also sought to have GMs case thrown out. The spokesperson said that Ford had petitioned US Patent and Trademark Office for Cruise and Super Cruise trademarks to be rescinded.
GM did not respond to a Saturday request for comment.
Updated August 14, 2005, at 5:54 PM ET: Ford spokesperson adds statement
