Seat challenges the trade names BYD Seal, BYD Seal U and BYD Sealion
Those from Baix Llobregat have filed a complaint with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for the use of the trade names Seal, Seal U and Sealion, which they consider too similar to those of their brand.
The Chinese manufacturer BYD has already strongly consolidated its position in the European market and has become the brand with the fastest-growing sales of electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the Spanish market during the first half of 2025, with a spectacular year-on-year growth of 700% thanks to having registered a total of 12,353 cars in Spain.
BYD's commercial fight to gain its own space in the European market has now taken on a new dimension following Seat's challenge to the trade names BYD Seal, BYD Seal U and BYD Sealion before the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which it considers could lead to a sea cone. The most obvious case is that of BYD Sealion (sea lion, in English), a trade name very similar to the Seat León, or the use of the word Seal (seal, in English), which those from Baix Llobregat consider could lead to confusion with the name of the Catalan brand itself.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office has already forwarded Seat's arguments to the Chinese brand BYD, which must respond to the request by mid-October. During the months (or even years) that the process drags on, BYD will be able to continue using the trade names Seal, Seal U, and Sealion, pending a final ruling, which Martorell hopes will be favorable.
Plagiarism or inspiration?
This controversy is part of a framework of complicated relations between major European manufacturers and new Chinese brands, which are increasing their sales at the expense of brands like Seat. Without going any further, those from Baix Llobregat have seen their profits fall by 90% during the first half of 2025, while Chinese manufacturers continue to gain market share in the Old Continent.
The case of BYD and the Seal, Seal U, and Sealion models is more of a common commercial strategy for Chinese brands than an isolated or exceptional case. In this sense, it is worth remembering that Livan, a subsidiary of Geely, markets two SUVs called the X3 Pro and X6 Pro, which can be confused with the already established BMW X3 and X6, or that several Chinese sports models such as the Xiaomi SU7 or the Landwing X7 are suspiciously similar to the Porsche Taycan and the Range.