A few days ago, Audi won the trademark lawsuit against Weilai Automobile (09866.HK/NIO.US) in Germany.

According to German media reports, the Munich District Court ruled in the first instance that the names of Weilai NIO ES6 and ES8 infringed Audi's trademark rights, because they might be mistaken for the electric models of Audi brands S6 and S8. Weilai is forbidden to use the model names of ES6 and ES8 to sell products in Germany.

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The judge agreed that the model names of Weilai are actually different from those of Audi, but even so, the extra letter "e" is not enough to distinguish them, and it is enough for consumers to think that they are "psychologically related, at least in pronunciation".

"There is a risk that consumers will regard the (Weilai) ES6 as an electric version of the (Audi) S6, and the two cars are from the same manufacturer," the judge said. "Therefore, there is a risk of confusion and empathy."

In this regard, Wei Lai replied to the Red Star Capital Bureau: "On June 65438+1October 19, the Munich District Court of Germany made a preliminary judgment on the case that Audi sued Wei Lai for infringing trademark rights. We are very sorry for this judgment. We will resolutely appeal to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests through legal means. At present, Weilai's business in Europe is being carried out in an orderly manner. EL7 and ET5 will be delivered in the near future, and the construction of charging and replacing facilities is also accelerating. "

Qin, the co-founder of Weilai, also said in an interview with the media that this is only the first instance, not the final result. The company will resolutely appeal and safeguard its legitimate rights and interests by legal means.

In May, 20021,Weilai released the Norwegian strategy and officially entered the Norwegian market. June 8, 2022 10 Following Norway, Weilai announced its entry into four European countries, namely Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, to further expand its business in the European market. From the middle of 2022 10, Weilai began to launch ET7, ET5 and EL7 (domestic counterpart: ES7) in Germany and other markets.

On June 6, 2022 16, Audi filed a lawsuit against Weilai Automobile in Munich District Court, Germany, accusing it of infringing Audi's trademark rights. Audi claimed that Weilai decided to name its two models ES6 and ES8, which infringed the trademark rights of Audi's two models S6 and S8.

Red Star journalist Wu Danruo

Editor Yu Dongmei