Who controls ‘Cruise’ name? GM and Ford battle it out

Last month, GM sued Ford over the name of Ford’s assisted-driving system, BlueCruise, which is scheduled to be released later this year. GM said the name is “confusingly similar" to GM’s own system, Super Cruise, as well as that of its driverless-car division, San Francisco-based Cruise. In the lawsuit, GM called its competitor’s naming choice “a brazen attempt to trade on their goodwill."

Ford late Friday filed a legal motion hitting back. The Dearborn, Mich.-based auto maker said it chose the name BlueCruise with a nod to the term cruise control, a generic driving feature that has been offered by auto makers for decades. Ford asked the U.S. District Court in San Francisco to toss out GM’s suit.

“Consumers understand ‘cruise’ to refer to a feature in their vehicle that performs part of the driving task or assists them in driving," it said. “They do not associate that term with any one company or brand."

Ford also petitioned the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel GM’s trademark of the Super Cruise name. In a statement, Ford cited several other uses of the word “cruise" in descriptions of features marketed by other auto companies, including “Smart Cruise Control" from Hyundai Motor Co. and “Predictive Cruise" from Mack Trucks Inc.

GM said that Super Cruise “has had a well-established commercial presence since 2017," and said it “remains committed to vigorously defending our brands and protecting the equity our products and technology have earned over several years in the market and that won’t change."

The legal dispute comes as so-called advanced driver-assistance systems, which enable the vehicle to automate some driving tasks, have become a key battleground in the car business. Auto makers are looking to offer more new tech features and remotely add services via broadband connections, potentially generating subscription revenue as they try to reposition themselves as tech-services providers.

Advanced driver-assistance systems deploy cameras, sensors

and radar to control speed and steering under certain driving conditions. GM’s Super Cruise system, introduced in 2017, promotes hands-free driving on the highway. The system uses a driver-facing camera to ensure the driver is still paying attention at the wheel. Ford’s BlueCruise technology will offer similar capability.

GM is working to broaden the availability of the technology across much of its lineup, after having offered it on only a handful of Cadillac models. It recently added automatic lane changes to the feature and has broadened its use to more North American highways.

The Detroit car companies have been known to tussle over the years, particularly in competitive market spaces like trucks and sports cars.

In 2012, Ford threatened to sue GM over a Super Bowl commercial that implied GM’s Chevrolet Silverado trucks would survive an apocalypse, but Ford’s truck wouldn’t.

Some clashes have also landed in court.

GM, in 2019, filed suit against crosstown competitor Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, accusing its rival of bribing union officials to gain a labor-cost advantage in contract negotiations.

Fiat Chrysler, which is now a part of Stellantis NV, has maintained the suit was without merit. The following year, a federal judge dismissed the legal challenge, saying GM failed to show it was the primary victim of any alleged racketeering activity.

Write to Mike Colias at Mike.Colias@wsj.com