Land Rover has won a legal battle against Chinese manufacturer Jiangling Motors. Land Rover has since 2014 accused the manufacturer of outright copying the design of its popular Range Rover Evoque model.
Last week a Beijing court ordered a stop to production of Jiangling’s Landwind X7 and that Land Rover be compensated.
Yes, the Evoque has already been replaced by a 2nd generation model, but the court’s decision is an important one. That’s because this is the first time a Chinese court has ruled in favour of a foreign carmaker in claims against a
This small victory was hard fought and well deserved by Land Rover. extremely tough times for the company. Again, a 2nd generation model is already on its way. In
Simplified Timeline:
January 2008: Land Rover debuts LRX Concept
April 2011: Land Rover debuts Range Rover Evoque
November 2014: Jiangling Motor shows the Landwind X7 at the Guangzhou Auto Show. Ian Callum tweets photos and notes design similarities
Early 2015: Jaguar Land Rover’s complaints dismissed by Chinese courts
April 2016: Land Rover’s Chinese design patent for the Evoque declared invalid because car was unveiled much earlier
May 2016: Jiangling’s design patent annulled as it bore too much of a similarity to Land Rover’s.
June 2016: Land Rover sues Jiangling in Beijing court for unfair competition and copyright infringement.
March 2019: Beijing court rules in favour of Land Rover. 5 design similarities noted: the shape of tapering glasshouse, tail lights, and character lines amongst them.
April 2019: Tentative launch of 2nd generation Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
