A Dutch court has handed BYD an early win in its legal fight with Jaguar Land Rover over the Ti 7, a boxy SUV that many observers, including Electrek, have compared to the Land Rover Defender. On Nov. 11, a court in The Hague ordered JLR to destroy documents seized in an August raid on BYD's Netherlands offices, or face a penalty, Electrek reported.
After BYD opened orders for the Ti 7 in Europe and the U.K. in late July, the company described the vehicle as having "an unapologetically boxy profile" that delivers "the imposing, chunky design that finds favour among SUV buyers, yet delivers a contemporary look." In August, authorities on behalf of the British luxury automaker raided BYD's offices in the Netherlands without prior warning and seized digital records.
The Hague ruling ordered JLR to destroy the seized documents, which included launch plans and other technical data, so they would not fall into anyone else's hands. JLR must destroy them within 24 hours of the ruling or face a fine of 50,000 euros, or about $55,000, for every hour of delay, with a maximum penalty of up to 500,000 euros, or about $553,000. Within 24 hours of destroying the files, JLR must also provide BYD with third-party confirmation that they have been destroyed. The court also rejected the British automaker's request to have BYD pay a 500,000-euro fine, Electrek reported.
According to Autoweek Netherlands, the ruling is based on the fact that JLR does not need the documents, noting that the Ti 7 has not yet been sold in the European Union. BYD won the ruling, and JLR is prohibited from taking any further legal action under the initial seizure order, but JLR has already begun summary proceedings over the infringement in Rotterdam and The Hague, Electrek reported.
A 'slavish imitation' claim, and a lower U.K. price
JLR claims that the Ti 7 is a "slavish imitation" and infringes the intellectual property of the Land Rover Defender, and that BYD stripped down the Defender to reverse-engineer some of its technology. Before the raid, BYD says it fully cooperated with JLR's requests. BYD's lawyers called the raid a "fishing expedition" and claimed that "too many files were seized."
The Ti 7 is on sale starting at 47,995 pounds, or about $64,000, on the road in the U.K. That is over 20,000 pounds, or about $26,500, less than the plug-in Defender 110, which starts at 71,840 pounds, or about $95,500, in the U.K. It has a seven-seat arrangement that BYD said was specifically designed for the European and U.K. markets, Electrek reported.
The Hague order is an early procedural win for BYD, not a verdict on whether the Ti 7 copies the Defender. That question has moved into the summary proceedings JLR has already started.