Aston Martin has filed an appeal at the UK Court of Appeal against a 2023 trademark ruling that went in favor of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. The dispute is over a winged-horse-head badge designed for Geely's London EV Company subsidiary, which builds the electric successor to the classic London black cab. The UK Intellectual Property Office already decided, two years ago, that buyers were unlikely to confuse an electric black taxi for a 180,000-pound British sports car. Aston Martin disagreed then and is disagreeing again.
The more interesting part of this story is not the legal detail. It is that in 2024, Geely acquired a 17 percent stake in Aston Martin Lagonda for 234 million pounds (310 million dollars), becoming the British brand's largest non-family shareholder. Aston Martin is currently suing a company controlled by an entity that owns nearly a fifth of Aston Martin itself.
The Timeline
- 2022: Geely, through London EV Company (LEVC), filed for UK trademark registration of a winged-horse-head logo for the electric taxi lineup.
- 2023: Aston Martin filed an opposition, citing confusion with its own winged badge. The UK IPO ruled against Aston Martin, finding that consumers would not mistake a cab for a GT. Aston was ordered to pay Geely's costs of 2,200 pounds (2,900 dollars).
- 2024: Geely bought 17 percent of Aston Martin.
- 2026: Aston Martin appealed the 2023 ruling at the UK Court of Appeal.
The 2,900-dollar cost award and the 310-million-dollar investment are the two transactions that define the relationship between the two companies now. One is an insult. The other is a vote of confidence. Both are currently live on the books.
Geely's Response
A Geely spokesperson characterized the appeal as "a routine trademark dispute" and added that the company "remains committed to maintaining a professional relationship with Aston Martin." Translation: the legal and commercial teams are not talking to each other, and Geely would rather this not become a headline topic at shareholder meetings.
The awkwardness is not theoretical. Aston Martin's 17 percent shareholder has voting rights on key corporate decisions, including board composition and capital-raising votes. A protracted trademark fight with a company Geely controls is the kind of background tension that complicates the routine business of being a minority strategic investor.
What The Court Will Actually Decide
The appeal turns on whether the 2023 IPO tribunal applied the standard trademark-confusion test correctly. Aston Martin's argument is that brand reputation extends beyond the immediate segment: a badge designed for electric taxis can still dilute the Aston Martin wings in consumer memory, even if no buyer is confusing a vehicle purchase.
Ruling is expected sometime in 2026, though UK trademark appeals frequently run into the following year. The practical stakes for Geely are not large: LEVC could rebrand the taxi logo if it loses. The stakes for Aston Martin are also limited. The strategic stakes for both companies, though, are the kind of thing that shows up in quarterly earnings commentary for several quarters to come.