Boom, lawsuit!
In 2016, Geely - a Chinese car company that has grown in popularity, quality, volume, and ambition over the past two decades to reach its current position as one of the country’s premier automakers, while also famed for being the benefactor that has breathed new life into Volvo - announced it was setting up a new subsidiary called Lynk & Co that would focus on cars to cater for the connected, future-facing lifestyle.
Months later, it has been reported that the Ford Motor Company is now has an issue with that name, which to their ears - as well as those of their crack legal team - interpret to bear too close of a phonetic resemblance to Lincoln, a Ford sub-brand only sold in North America, East Asia (China), and some countries in the Middle East.
Automotive News says that Ford is moving to put the kibosh on Lynk & Co’s trademark application, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted them an extension within which they intend to challenge the Zhejiang Geely subsidiary’s own application.
"The Lincoln brand has a rich 100-year history and we intend to protect its reputation," a Lincoln spokesman wrote Automotive News in an email. "Lynk & CO is infringing on the Lincoln ... trademark and we are taking legal actions to prevent them from using their infringing mark. Their name as it stands will confuse customers."
Three points of note here:
- In recent years, Ford has demonstrated a propensity to fiercely protect the names associated with its brand. The recently launched Tesla Model 3, for example, is so named because Ford pursued legal action against the EV maker over its original name, the Model E.
- Volvo Cars and Geely Automobile are both equal subsidiaries of the Zhejiang Geely conglomerate which own a 50 percent stake in Lynk & Co. The former two automakers will take an equal stake in the remaining half, pooling expertise to create the cars and technology that surround them. Thusly, the Lynk & Co 01 crossover will use many of the same components as the upcoming Volvo XC40.
- Ironically, Ford were the ones to who sold Volvo Cars to Zheejiang Geely after roughly 10 years under their stewardship. By 2008, Ford’s Premier Automotive Group (which included Volvo, Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Land Rover) were struggling financially, leading to a string of sales in order to offload these brands. Volvo’s current owners took the reins in 2010.
Some say Ford picking a fight with Lynk & Co over something this trivial makes them look petty - we agree. Some say that Ford does have a point, though, as the name does sound like Lincoln, especially if you say both over and over again - and we agree with that too.
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