In a rare move in the automotive market, Jaguar Land Rover has filed a lawsuit against a Chinese car maker, Jiangling Motor for allegedly copying the design for Land Rover’s Evoque.
When one speaks about copies, the first country that comes to mind is China. Due to lenient laws governing the copyrights in China, manufacturers in the world’s largest economy have gotten away with blatantly copying off many famed global organizations for their products. This practice has also plagued the car industry for ages, as many European car makers have tried in the past to sue Chinese automakers for their acts. None have ever quite succeeded though. Eventually most of the manufacturers gave up due to huge costs associated with such lawsuits.
So, in a rarely seen move in the recent times, Jaguar Land Rover has sued Chinese automaker Jiangling motors for copying the design of their Land Rover Evoque. The Chinese car in question is the Jiangling Landwind X7. One cannot deny the blatant similarities between the two cars as one can easily mistake one for the other. To add to Land Rover’s woes, the X7 being a local product, there are plenty of aftermarket kits available for the X7 which sport the Evoque and Range Rover badges.
The Landwind X7 currently retails in the Chinese market for a third of the Evoque’s price, with the additional body kits available for approximately 128 yuan (Rs. 1300 /-). It is very unlikely for Jaguar Land Rover to win this lawsuit as the Chinese government does not take foreign copyright infringements too seriously. A copyright lawsuit is also often seen by the people as a move to threaten their domestic markets. Also these lawsuits are usually long and costly affairs and seldom favour the foreign brands.
In a similar case, Honda had taken 12 years to finally win, albeit with an insignificant compensation of 16 million yuan (it was seeking 300 million yuan). A win for Jaguar Land Rover would prompt other automakers to take legal action against the local manufacturers.
JLR Sues Chinese Car Maker
– Jaguar Land Rover has filed a lawsuit against Chinese car maker Jiangling
– The lawsuit pertains to the Jiangling Landwind X7 whose design is blatantly copied off Land Rover’s Evoque
– A win for JLR is highly unlikely due to the lenient nature of Chinese copyright laws
Source – Reuters.com
