NIO has won a significant legal battle against German carmaker Audi in Europe. Last month, a Munich court ruled in favor of Audi in a lawsuit against NIO, stating that the latter’s ES6 and ES8 SUV models infringed on Audi’s S6 and S8 trademarks.
However, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has now ruled that there is no likelihood of confusion between NIO’s ES8 and ES6 and Audi’s S8 and S6, and has rejected Audi’s request for trademark invalidation.
The ruling means that NIO’s ES8 and ES6 trademarks will remain valid in the European Union, unless Audi successfully appeals the EUIPO’s decision. The case began when Audi filed a lawsuit against NIO last year, claiming that the Chinese company’s SUV models infringed on its trademark rights. The German court had ruled that the NIO ES6 and ES8 models sounded too similar to Audi’s existing S6 and S8 models.
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The court had also noted that the letter “E” in NIO’s name was not enough to distinguish the difference between the models because it could be confused with Audi’s electric models. However, the recent ruling by the EUIPO has dismissed this argument, stating that there is no likelihood of confusion between the two sets of models.
NIO had said at the time of the Munich court ruling that it regretted the decision and would appeal to defend its legal rights. The company has not yet started selling the ES6 or ES8 models in Germany, and the latter is only available in Norway in Europe.
NIO launched the ET7, ET5, and ES7 models in China and Europe in October 2022. However, a few hours before the launch, the company changed the name of the ES7 model in Europe to EL7, citing Audi’s legal challenge to the ES8 and ES6 names.
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NIO stated that it has been making global registration applications for trademarks since 2016 and has received successful registrations in China and most markets in Europe and the US. The company decided to use the EL7 name in Europe to avoid affecting the interests of its customers in the region, given that the legal battle with Audi could be protracted.
