Citroen brought Polestar to court due to the chevrons it used in its logo.
Polestar was established in 2003 as an independent brand and not Volvo’s performance division. While it maintained close ties to its Swedish partner, it began making dedicated vehicles that were primarily plug-in hybrids.
Two products bearing the brand’s simple name 1 and 2 are available, but they are not being sold in France. According to L’Automobile, the Polestar 2 was supposed to arrive there in 2020 but was delayed by Citroen’s trademark dispute.
Citroen is accusing Polestar with doing what?
Citroen has accused the Polestar brand of brand image infringement and counterfeiting because of its logo. Polestar’s emblem is actually composed of two chevrons facing each other, making it a star. DS Automobiles, another brand within the PSA family, also complained about the Polestar logo a few months back. DS claimed that the logo was too inspired by its own badge.
Citroen brought Polestar to France’s court over the trademark dispute. The French brand supported its claim by displaying comments from Internet users that pointed out similarities between the Polestar logo, Citroen’s and DS.
What was the verdict of the court?
Citroen’s claims for infringement of the design of the Polestar emblem were dismissed by the court. The court found that the logos are not identical and have a different layout for the chevrons. The court also pointed out that the products were intended for people who are familiar with the badges. This would make it difficult to confuse the products.
Citroen was ruled to be right for the trademark infringement argument. The court ruled that Polestar’s logo contained similar-shaped arches, which presented a problem. Citroen is known as “the brand with chevrons” and Polestar could in indirect ways benefit from Citroen’s reputation.
The Paris court ruled that it was relevant to mention that the old logo of the Swedish company featured the company name as well as a star. The new badge was created in 2017, almost ten years since Citroen filed for the chevron emblem.
Citroen was ordered to pay Polestar EUR150,000 ($174763.50 at current exchange rates) as damages for the infringement by Polestar of its trademark’s distinctive character. Polestar was also banned from using its logo anywhere in France for six months. Polestar’s website in France is not accessible to .
This is not an isolated instance
Polestar and Citroen were not the only companies to fight over the logo. There was also a battle between JAC Motors (Mercedes) and BYD, the Chinese manufacturer of BMW. Renault and Mazda fought over a Japanese company’s logo change more than 30 years ago. Renault thought the new design was too similar to the existing diamond.
There are also stories about car names. The most well-known being the one that merged Peugeot with Porsche and created the 911 base, which was to be known as the 901 base. A smaller affair was also reported about the M-Class. It became ML after a BMW comment.