Ford sues Ferrari over 'F150' name

Ford has issued a complaint in a U.S. District Court against Ferrari for its use of the 'F150' name for its 2011 Formula One car.

The Detroit automaker claims the use of the moniker infringes on its trademark of the F-150 name for its top-selling pick up truck.

Ferrari has responded by using the full name for the new F1 car - the 'Ferrari F150th Italia', which celebrates 150 years of the unification of Italy - instead of just the 'Ferrari F150'. 

"Ferrari has misappropriated the F-150 trademark in naming its new racing vehicle the 'F150' in order to capitalize on and profit from the substantial goodwill that Ford has developed in the F-150 trademark," Ford said in the filing.

But Ferrari responded that there could be no confusion between the two.

"[It's] very difficult to understand Ford's viewpoint on the matter," said Ferrari in a statement.

"Ferrari believes that its own contender in the forthcoming F1 championship cannot be confused with other types of commercially available vehicle of any sort whatsoever, nor can it give the impression that there is a link to another brand of road-going vehicle," read the statement.

Besides, the two monikers barely cross the same market space since the F-150 is sold only in North America and Formula One does not have a race in the United States, only a single event in Montreal, Canada.