Industry Report: Nissan to Sue Audi Over the Letter Q

If Nissan Wins Suit it Could Potentially Initiate an Alphanumeric Trademark War of Monumental Proportions

If you think a pharmaceutical company should be able to patent the rights to a plant's biological makeup, then you'll probably

Nissan, which builds and sells the Q45 luxury sedan through its Infiniti luxury division, feels it owns the Q designation. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

agree that Nissan Motor Co. should own the rights to the letter "Q".

Amazingly, the Japanese automaker, which builds and sells the Q45 luxury sedan through its Infiniti luxury division, as well as the QX56 and Nissan badged Maxima QX in Europe, feels it owns the Q designation despite Volkswagen Group's Audi division having built Quattro models since the early '80s.

Nissan has filed a trademark infringement suit at the U.S. District Court in Michigan over Audi's plans to launch a series of Q-ships later this year, the now official designation of its upcoming sport utility lineup to represent the compact Q5, based on the new Golf/Jetta architecture, and midsize Q7, which

Nissan has filed a trademark infringement suit at the U.S. District Court in Michigan over Audi's plans to launch a series of Q-ships later this year. (Photo: Audi Canada)

shares architectural components with the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne.

Audi has named its vehicles with an alfa designation for more than a decade, primarily with A, for naming its European-only A3, and new North American bound A3 Sportback, plus its already established A4, A6 and A8 sedans, as well as with S and RS to identify sport models.

While it no doubt has trademarked allroad, the name it gives its crossover A6 wagon, but it might consider locking up some older designations such as 50, 60, 80, 90, 100, 200, 20v, V8, as well as its Fox and Coupe Quattro.