As reported in Autoweek, Chrysler Group was sued for trademark infringement last week in the Central District of California by Scat Enterprises, an aftermarket specialty auto parts manufacturer. The lawsuit involves a decades-old trademark dispute between the two parties over Chrysler’s use of the term SCAT PACK as a trim designation for certain Dodge models. The dispute arose in 1968, when Chrysler first used the SCAT PACK mark with the Dodge Charger R/T, Coronet R/T, and Dart GTS models. Chrysler stopped using the SCAT PACK mark in 1971 after receiving a cease and desist letter from Scat Enterprises, but revived the mark in 2013 for a version of the Dodge Challenger. As part of the 2013 branding campaign, Chrysler filed U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 86048726 for the SCAT PACK mark, but the USPTO recently issued a final refusal of the application based on a likelihood of confusion with the portfolio of SCAT-based marks owned by Scat Enterprises. The USPTO’s refusal notwithstanding, Chrysler is publicly arguing that the PACK portion of its mark renders it dissimilar to the prior SCAT marks owned by Scat Enterprises, and is calling the Scat Enterprises lawsuit “a meritless and opportunistic attempt to hold Chrysler hostage just days before the upcoming SEMA show.” Chrysler further pledges to “vigorously defend itself against this attack and look to enforce its own rights in [the SCAT PACK] moniker.” Read the full article here, and the Scat Enterprises complaint here.

By duggar11 (2012 Dodge Challenger RT  Uploaded by russavia) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. — By duggar11 (2012 Dodge Challenger RT Uploaded by russavia) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Reposted from Autoweek.