Chinese EV maker HiPhi sues Renault for trademark infringement

China’s electric vehicle (EV) maker Human Horizons said on January 20 that an interim injunction has been granted by a German court against the German subsidiary of French carmaker Renault, which Human Horizons accused of infringing the logo of HiPhi, an EV brand owned by it, according to a company statement published on its official WeChat account.

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The HiPhi brand was launched on July 31, 2019, by Human Horizons alongside its first concept car, the HiPhi 1. Before that, the Shanghai-based start-up registered the “HiPhi” logo and trademark in all major countries worldwide.

 

Renault launched Mobilize, a new mobility services arm, in 2021 as part of its revamp. According to Human Horizons, Renault began to register the “Mobilize” logo in the EU, the UK, Norway, Brazil, Russia, and Switzerland in January 2021 as well as in China in June 2021.

 

Human Horizons said it filed a trademark infringement lawsuit with a German court alleging the disturbing similarity between Renault’s “Mobilize” logo and its “HiPhi” logo and the court awarded the injunction in October 2021 that blocked Renault from using the “Mobilize” logo in Germany pending the outcome of the trial.