Ford has asked the U.S. District Court in San Francisco to dismiss a lawsuit from General Motors over its BlueCruise self-driving feature.
Last month, GM filed a lawsuit against Ford on the grounds of trademark infringement, claiming that the name of the BlueCruise feature is too similar to GM’s Super Cruise hands-free driver assistance technology that was launched in 2012 and its Cruise self-driving subsidiary.
In its motion to have the lawsuit dismissed, Ford argued that consumers are familiar with the term “cruise” and said the lawsuit is “meritless and frivolous.”
Read More: Ford’s BlueCruise Hands-Free Driving System For F-150 And Mustang Mach-E Costs $600 For 3 Years
“Consumers understand ‘cruise’ to refer to a feature in their vehicle that performs part of the driving task or assists them in driving, and they do not associate that term with any one company or brand,” Ford said in its complaint.
In the lawsuit, General Motors claimed that it had been involved in “protracted discussions” with Ford over the name but had been unable to come to an agreement, hence why the lawsuit was filed.
“Ford knew exactly what it was doing,” GM says in its complaint, adding that if Ford “wanted to adopt a new, unique brand, it easily could have done so without using the word ‘Cruise’,” The Verge reports.
Ford unveiled its Level 2 driver-assistance system in April. The system works through a combination of advanced camera and radar-sensing technologies and will initially be available as an over-the-air update for the F-150 and Mustang Mach-E models equipped with Co-Pilot360 and Active 2.0 Prep Package.
