On August 18, when Geely Automobile’s (00175.HK) independent high-end brand LYNKCO registered a trademark for its brand name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, it was blocked by the American car brand Ford. .

It is understood that Ford Motor Co., the parent company of Lincoln Motors, submitted an appeal to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, objecting to the LYNKCO brand trademark registration submitted by Geely to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on November 25, 2016, claiming that Geely’s The LYNKCO brand is highly similar in pronunciation to Ford's luxury car brand Lincoln, which can easily confuse consumers.

In this regard, Yang Xueliang, vice president and spokesperson of Geely Automobile Group, said in an interview that Lynk & Co’s trademark is clear, the legal team is preparing a defense, and Lynk & Co is very confident in holding the trademark . It is understood that the Lynk & Co brand has registered trademarks in China and major European countries, and has also received preliminary recognition from the U.S. Trademark Office.

Just in July 2017, Chinese car brand Chery and German car brand Mercedes-Benz reached a consensus on cooperation on the use of the "EQ/eQ" brand name of their respective new energy vehicle brands. This time, another cross-border trademark dispute has surfaced. However, in the eyes of industry insiders, Geely and Ford may not be as calm as Chery and Mercedes-Benz.

It is reported that Geely filed a trademark registration application in the United States on November 25, 2016, and is currently in the public review period. According to the "U.S. Trademark Act" case, other companies and the public can raise questions and opinions during this process. “This will help the US Patent and Trademark Office further improve the review process and improve the quality and efficiency of patent applications.” US Patent and Intellectual Property Director David and Deputy Secretary of Commerce Kappos once pointed out in public.

This also means that Ford is currently only raising objections, not suing. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has given Ford 90 days to file an objection to the Lynk & Co trademark before November 15, 2017.

However, according to the relevant person in charge of Geely, Ford’s objection has not yet affected Lynk & Co’s trademark application in the United States. A Lincoln spokesperson said, "The Lincoln brand has a 100-year history and hopes to protect its reputation. The Lynk & Co brand has infringed Lincoln's trademark rights, and Lincoln is taking legal measures to prevent them from using the infringing trademarks." Geely is also full of confidence in this. As Yang Xueliang said, Geely's legal team is also actively preparing for a defense.

In the opinion of an insider who has just experienced the cross-border trademark case between Chery and Mercedes-Benz, this will be a test of the depth of Geely’s internationalization, including conceptual awareness, professional capabilities, and communication and negotiation levels. This year, Geely’s internationalization team has successively introduced heavyweights to plan for overseas markets. On May 24, Nan Shengliang, the former deputy general manager of Geely Auto Sales Co., Ltd., became the general manager of Geely International Company. In early August, news came out that Li Yansong, general manager of Geely New Energy Sales Company, would be transferred to the group to be in charge of overseas mergers and acquisitions. With the acquisition of Proton to expand overseas business, Geely is in urgent need of talents to expand overseas markets. This trademark game will be the first major test for the new team.