Nio, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker, has emerged victorious in its trademark dispute with Audi in Australia, paving the way for the registration of the ES series of trademarks in the country. The battle between the two automakers began three years ago and has now spread to multiple territories.
According to a report by Sina Tech, Australian intellectual property authorities recently ruled in favor of Nio, rejecting Audi’s opposition to the registration of the ES6, ES7, and ES8 trademarks. This decision allows Nio to proceed with the registration process in Australia.
The conflict first arose in October 2021 when Audi claimed that Nio’s ES6 and ES8 models infringed on Audi’s trademark rights for the S6 and S8. Audi filed a lawsuit against Nio in Munich, Germany, alleging that the naming of Nio’s models was too similar to Audi’s.
In a first-instance judgment in January 2023, the Munich district court ruled in favor of Audi, stating that Nio’s naming of the models was infringing on Audi’s trademark rights. This decision was upheld in a second-instance judgment by Munich’s higher regional court in April of this year.
As a result of the dispute, Nio has rebranded its ES range of models in Europe as the EL range. For example, the ES8 is now known as the EL8, the ES7 as the EL7, and the ES6 as the EL6. This rebranding has been implemented in other markets as well, including the UAE, as Nio expands its presence overseas.
In Australia, Audi argued that Nio’s ES6, ES7, and ES8 trademarks were too similar to Audi’s existing S6, S7, and S8 trademarks. Audi claimed that the presence of the letter E in Nio’s trademarks, standing for Electric, did not provide enough differentiation from Audi’s models.
However, Nio defended its position by stating that the letter E has diverse meanings in automobile naming and that the overall visual and aural differences between the two sets of trademarks were significant enough to prevent consumer confusion. Ultimately, the Australian intellectual property authorities agreed with Nio, ruling that the marks were sufficiently different and not substantially similar.
This latest development marks a significant win for Nio in its ongoing battle with Audi over trademark rights. The company continues to expand its global footprint, with plans to introduce new models and expand its presence in key markets around the world.
