Hummer has won the first round in the court war with DaimlerChrysler after claims that the army-style H2’s grille was too similar to that of Jeep. The Hummer grille has seven vertical slots, as do Chrysler’s Jeeps.
Hummer has won the first round in the court war with DaimlerChrysler after claims that the army-style H2’s grille was too similar to that of Jeep. The Hummer grille has seven vertical slots, as do Chrysler’s Jeeps.
CARtoday.com reported about a month ago that DaimlerChrysler had applied for the preliminary injunction as it wanted General Motors to change the grille on the H2 (right), before it went on sale in the United States in July.
Chrysler said the similarity between the Hummer H2 and Jeep grilles would confuse consumers. A survey by an independent research firm found that most Jeep owners mistook the H2 for a Jeep (below). Since that survey, GM has stamped the Hummer name across the grille, but in DaimlerChrysler’s opinion this was not enough.
US District Judge Robert L Miller Jr ruled that DaimlerChrysler had virtually no chance of proving it had a grille with a “family of marks” that identify vehicles as Jeep models when AM General began selling the military Humvee about 20 years ago. He said DaimlerChrysler could not have shown that the grille would cause confusion for consumers between the Jeep Wrangler and the Hummer H2. Worse, the company had “waited far too long to contend now that the H2 dilutes the uniqueness of the grille now in use on the Jeep Wrangler”.
The seven-slot Jeep grille is a post-World War 2 development first seen on civilian Jeeps, CAR’s editors have pointed out. Wartime Jeeps in fact had nine slots.
The first Hummer went into production in 1992 and was modelled on the Humvee military vehicle that was widely seen during the Gulf War in 1991. According to GM, Jeep had no right to lodge a complaint now, as they had not done so in 1992.
“Basically, the court decision reinforces our position that the Hummer grille doesn’t conflict with any legitimate Jeep trademark,” said Alan Adler, GM director of Hummer communications.
DaimlerChrysler said it was reviewing Miller’s ruling and had not determined if it would appeal. It was looking forward to presenting its complete case in December, when a full trial is scheduled to begin.
“The company will continue to protect the design of its Jeep grille, which has been a famous and unique identifier of the Jeep brand for more than 55 years,” it added.
