OW&E’s Larry Townsend was quoted in a recent Law.com article, Can a car company control “cruise?” New IP lawsuit says GM can, that discusses the recently filed case by General Motors against rival Ford over Ford’s use of the word “cruise” as part of the name of their automated driving technology products.
According to the article, “For Townsend, the case may boil down to whether ‘cruise’ is descriptive of autonomous driving or merely suggestive. ‘If ‘cruise’ is considered descriptive, then that word is weak and it’s probably available for others to use,’ he said. GM would have to show that ‘cruise’ has acquired secondary meaning, which would be difficult since the technology is so new.”
Townsend goes on to say, “What’s important is not so much what is understood in the sophisticated industry, but what consumers understand. It may be true that there’s no common understanding among consumers that ‘cruise’ means automated driving technology. And if so, then Ford may be cruising for a bruising. On the other hand, if Ford is right that there are others using the term ‘cruise’ to refer to automated driving technology, then that may put a big dent in GM’s case, if not bring it to a stall.”