The radio in the 2022 Chrysler Pacifica, which includes Bluetooth. | Image: Chrysler
A US appeals court has decided that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (or FCA) has a valid argument in a trademark case brought against it by the standards organization behind Bluetooth. The case being litigated could end up setting a precedent about whether automakers can buy radios that are already certified for Bluetooth or whether they will also have to pay the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) to certify the cars, too, adding cost at a time when car prices are already ballooning.
The Bluetooth SIG sued the automaker — now known as Stellantis after FCA merged with Peugeot — back in 2018. At the time, it said that FCA was improperly using its trademark on cars like the Jeep Wrangler and Dodge Grand Caravan, which Bluetooth SIG hadn’t…
