The three-year legal dispute between Citroen and Polestar has resulted in a French court temporarily banning the latter’s logo.
As we have reported earlier, Citroen claims that the logo of Polestar is too similar to its own double chevron badge and that of its premium DS brand. The French carmaker first asked parent company Volvo to stop using the Polestar logo in 2017, but the Swedish company refused.
Read More: Polestar Sales In France Reportedly Being Blocked Over Trademark Dispute With Citroen
Polestar now confirmed to Autocar that there’s an ongoing legal case in France, with a company spokesperson adding: “Polestar does not operate in France and we currently have no plans to operate in France. There is an ongoing legal case in France concerning the use of the Polestar logo, initiated by Citroën.”
“Whilst we cannot comment on the details of the case, we strongly believe in the position of our brand and logo. We recognize that as a new, exciting car brand on the market with ambitious plans to raise the profile of electric mobility, we may gather attention from established automakers. The case only relates to France and does not apply to any other countries.”
Citroen first took their case to the European Intellectual Property Office with no success. A French court however sided with them, ordering Polestar to stop using their logo for six months, starting in July 2020, and pay €150,000 ($177k in current exchange rates) to the French carmaker, plus €70,000 ($82k) in legal fees.
It’s not clear yet what will happen when Polestar’s six-month logo ban will expire this January.
