British car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has emerged victorious from a landmark court case against a Chinese company following a three year legal battle over copyright infringement.
The case saw Jaguar Land Rover accuse Chinese company Jiangling Motor Corporation (JMC) of producing a copycat version of the Range Rover Evoque model called Landwind X7.
The Evoque model costs £40,000 whilst JMC were selling their version of the vehicle for just £14,000
The court in Beijing found that the Chinese imitation had had five specific features that were directly copied from the Range Rover Evoque causing a likelihood of confusion for customers.
JMC was ordered to immediately stop production of the Landwind X7 and pay compensation to Britain’s largest car manufacturer.
The ruling is a massive achievement for the motor industry, Western firms have complained for years of cheap replicas being made in China but have struggled to secure legal protection against them.
JLR’s legal victory against JMC, which is a joint venture partner with the US giant Ford, is likely to encourage similar actions by other carmakers that have previously accused Chinese competitors of ripping off their designs.
Keith Benjamin, JLR’s head of legal, said: “We welcome this decision of the Beijing court, which further strengthens our confidence in investing in China and in the fairness of intellectual property adjudication in the Chinese courts.
“This ruling is a clear sign of the law being implemented appropriately to protect consumers and uphold their rights so that they are not confused or misled, whilst protecting business investment in design and innovation.”
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