Australia Grants Use of Corvette Emblem (with Caveats)

Similarities to Red Cross symbol could prompt more general changes to the iconic badge Down Under.

General Motors just scored another big win as it works to put the final pieces of the puzzle together for the new mid-engine Corvette.

According to a Wheels Magazine report, IP Australia has finally given the carmaker the okay to use the legendary Corvette badge in the Down Under. The news ends an expensive three-year battle by GM. In their pursuit, the company sought emblem approval in Australia after being rejected in four different applications.

The issue? Well, apparently, the colors in the Corvette’s double-flag emblem stylized with the Chevy bowtie looks a lot like the mark for the Red Cross, a symbol strongly protected under international law in Australia.

Under the agreement, Chevy will have to render the Corvette emblem in non-standard colors for Australia. The red-on-white/silver background or white/silver on a red background will be off limits, according to the report.

Wheels speculates that the ruling could also prompt GM to make a few standard changes to the Corvette badge. Those would avoid similar issues with other nations devoted to protecting the Red Cross emblem.

But no need for alarm. Even if Chevy winds up making some general changes to the symbol, we doubt that it’ll look much different than it does now.  Corvette’s iconic trademark remains hardly the kind of thing left open to interpretation.

Is the Corvette headed across the Pacific? Talk about it on the forums.

GM has also trademarked the name “Zora” in Australia as well as other countries. That move strongly suggests that the mid-engine model will bear the name of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the legendary engineer widely considered as the ‘father of the Corvette.’