TrueCar, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUE), the negotiation-free car buying and selling mobile marketplace, and Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: SAH), a Fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, N.C., and one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers, today jointly announced that they have reached a settlement in TrueCar’s lawsuit pending in the United States District Court in Los Angeles. In the litigation, TrueCar established its sole and exclusive rights to its TRUECAR trademark and TRUE family of trademarks and Sonic has agreed to transfer to TrueCar all rights to and use of its TRUE PRICE, TRUE VIEW and all other TRUE-related marks.
TrueCar CEO Scott Painter confirmed resolution of the dispute with Sonic: “Protecting our valuable intellectual property is of paramount importance to our business, so we are pleased to resolve this litigation. Sonic has been a valuable business partner in the past and we look forward to re-establishing a mutually beneficial business relationship with them in the future.”
Jeff Dyke, Sonic’s Executive Vice President of Operations stated, “We are pleased to come to a resolution with TrueCar. They will continue to build their brand around TRUE and Sonic will continue to enhance its Sonic brand with its own unique, market-based pricing model. With the lawsuit resolved, Sonic has lifted its policy of not doing business with TrueCar and is open to evaluating from a corporate level whether its dealerships will participate in TrueCar programs going forward.”
