Back in mid-September 2023, we told you about a potential trademark battle that appeared to be brewing for Hero MotoCorp regarding its trademark for the X 440. It’s a bike that Hero developed and is building in partnership with Harley-Davidson, and which wears a Harley-Davidson badge. Electric motorcycle startup Ultraviolette, which is also based in India, officially registered its opposition to that trademark because it says that it’s too similar to one that it had applied for prior to Hero’s application, for the name “X44.”
While we don’t have an update on that specific Hero trademark at this time, we do have some interesting information on what could be a related Hero MotoCorp trademark. According to Intellectual Property India records, on March 6, 2023, Hero MotoCorp applied for two trademarks. One name it wanted to register is “Hurikan,” which might not seem significant on its own.
However, the second trademark that Hero applied for on the same date was “Hurikan 440.” That inclusion makes it seem likely that it’s related to the Harley-Davidson X440 in some way.
Both Hurikan-related trademarks have a current status of Accepted and Advertised according to IP India records. The trademark for the Hurikan 440 was officially published in journal 2119-0 on August 28, 2023, while the trademark for the Hurikan was officially published in journal 2124-0 on October 2, 2023.
While the naming convention appears likely to be related to the Harley-Davidson X 440, there’s no evidence at this point to suggest exactly what to expect could be labeled with this name. Test mules are frequently spotted on Indian roads from many of its major motorcycle manufacturers, including Hero. So far, no such reports have been published regarding a model with this designation.
At this point, it’s also unclear whether the names Hurikan and Hurikan 440 are intended for use under Hero MotoCorp branding, or under Harley-Davidson branding. As the Ultraviolette trademark opposition documents illustrate, the trademark for the X 440 was applied for by Hero MotoCorp, not Harley-Davidson.
In any case, you’d be hard pressed to find a major motorcycle manufacturer in 2023 that spends time and money on research and development of an entirely new bike, but then doesn’t go on to turn it into a platform for multiple models. Trademark registrations don’t always come to fruition, so maybe we’ll never actually see the Hurikan—but if we do, we’ll be sure to keep you updated on what we learn.
