The Real YEYA？Chinese YEMA Sues Ford Mustang for Trademark Infringement

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai Mar 1st)– Recently a Chinese domestic automaker YEMA AUTO files in a lawsuit against Ford Mustang over Trademark Infringement, claiming compensation for 10 million rmb.

By now, Ford China hadn’t commented on this lawsuit directly. One of its executives said, “We have no comment for any unsolved lawsuit.” As for the trademark, Ford insisted the company always refer to the subject matter of dispute as Mustang, rather than YEMA, in its official website.

It’s observed that YEMA AUTO has registered its trademark back in 1986 while Ford Mustang, born in 1962 in honor of the legendary North American fighter P-51 Mustang, firstly appeared in China in January, 2015.

According to our observation, the sales of YEMA AUTO totaled 15,800 units, including 12,600 T70 in 2015 while that of mustang only totaled 4,000 units in China the same year. Some IP experts said the sales are often seen as one of the factors when considering infringement.

To be noted, the trademark infringement often hinges on whether there is a “likelihood of confusion” caused by the two marks at issue. Some experts believed in auto segment, consumers tend to understand the different brands and models, so there is very unlikely anyactual confusion caused by YEMA AUTO and Ford Mustang.

According to YEMA AUTO, the lawsuit has already been accepted by China Court and will be processed in March, 15th.