Volkswagen’s electric cars are known as “ID.” A former supplier is now suing for trademark infringement.
Wolfsburg – Electromobility is becoming increasingly important for car companies. Europe's largest car manufacturer, VW, is also investing heavily in the further development of its electric cars, the fully electric ID. models. “I.D. “stands not only for electric driving, but for your very own personal space on wheels,” writes Volkswagen on its page about its electric cars. But VW is being sued by a former supplier because of the name. There is a lot at stake for both.
“We have to explain again and again that our ID. products have nothing to do with Volkswagen”
The company IDENTYTEC in Hildesheim sees the use of the brand name ID. a trademark infringement and has therefore filed a lawsuit before the Hamburg Regional Court. IDENTYTEC's products are marked with the brands ID.ADD, ID.TAG or ID.TRACK, among others, and are registered as such. For direct comparison: VW labels its vehicles with brands such as ID.BUZZ, ID.VIZZION or ID.3.
Specifically, the company's managing directors, Thorsten and Cerstin Finke, fear that "in view of the common brand component, potential customers will assume that both companies are economically or organizationally intertwined or dependent on each other," as they confirmed to IPPEN.MEDIA. IDENTYTEC offers, among other things, driverless transport vehicles and systems to support production in the automotive industry.
Finke continues: “The mental association with Volkswagen is damaging to IDENTYTEC, because our customer base primarily includes companies from the automotive industry, especially automotive suppliers. They don’t want to bring in the competition or one of their main customers – i.e. Volkswagen – to have intralogistics solutions implemented while disclosing secret internal company information.”
The managing directors explain that it is not unusual for automobiles and driverless transport vehicles to be produced within the same group and under the same umbrella brand or as part of a brand series. “Unfortunately, it is currently not sufficiently clear to potential customers that our company and our ID. products have nothing to do with VW and their ID. electric vehicles. The confusion is confirmed by the inquiries we have received. Since then, we have had to explain again and again that our ID. products have nothing to do with Volkswagen.” The whole thing is made more difficult by the fact that VW was previously a long-standing customer of IDENTYTEC.
VW and IDENTYTEC: Out-of-court settlement failed
The supplier registered its first brands, ID.ADD, ID.TAG, ID.SHELF and ID.CONNECTOR, in 2013. “We have developed the abbreviation “ID.” as the corporate keyword of our company IDENTYTEC and the ID. marking of our products over the years into exclusive and, to date, unmistakable trademarks,” explain the managing directors. Volkswagen, on the other hand, only later named its new electric car series “ID.”
In May 2020, VW contacted IDENTYTEC to find an out-of-court settlement. However, this failed, which is why the founders are now suing. “We don't like to argue with our former customer.” But in the end, VW was not willing to settle any further. “It is clear to us that the situation cannot remain as it is. The lawsuit’s request is therefore for an injunction,” explains Finke.
A date for the court hearing at the Hamburg Regional Court is expected this year. “The process is at a very advanced stage. Both sides have already exchanged several legal documents,” the managing directors explain to IPPEN.MEDIA.
Volkswagen: No fight between David and Goliath
A Volkswagen spokesman told IPPEN.MEDIA that he “did not wish to comment further on the ongoing proceedings”. However, “a proposal from Volkswagen to mutually avoid a conflict was unfortunately not accepted by the plaintiff” in advance. We regret the legal dispute with a former supplier. However, the spokesman also emphasizes: "The necessary judicial clarification of legal questions regarding trademark law is by no means a 'battle of David against Goliath'."