A Beijing court has thrown out a lawsuit filed by Toyota Motor against China’s sole private car maker which accused the firm of infringing the Japanese giant’s copyright, Toyota told Reuters on Monday.
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The news agency noted that Toyota accused Geely Group last December of sporting a logo similar to the well-known stylised “T” on its “Meiri” sedans, saying it could mislead customers – a charge Geely dismissed.
Reuters said a triumphant Geely cheered the decision.
“As the leading brand for Chinese economy cars and a prominent representative of the people’s car industry, Geely has always relied on its own brand and intellectual copyright,” the company reportedly said in a statement.
According to Reuters, experts say inadequate enforcement of intellectual property rights in China is a worrying issue as foreign firms invest in the country’s liberalising markets.
“We were turned down,” Toyota spokeswoman Sun Tuoya told Reuters, adding: “We have to look more closely at the judgment before deciding what to do next.”
Geely, based in the booming eastern province of Zhejiang, reportedly said it treated the lawsuit as a learning opportunity.
Reuters said Toyota filed the lawsuit after Geely did not respond to a request to stop using the logo and had demanded 14 million yuan ($US1.69 million) in compensation from Geely, a fast-growing company eyeing a listing at home or overseas.
The report said Geely – headed by Li Shufu, ranked as one of China’s richest men in 2002 – dismissed the suit as “utter rubbish” at the time.
Reuters noted that Toyota’s dispute with Geely is not the first in China’s booming car sector, where sales are expected to surpass the two million mark this year, double that of 2002.
The news agency said General Motors is investigating media reports that two models made by SAIC-Chery, in which its main China partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp until recently owned a 20%stake, looked similar to its own models.
Industry sources told Reuters that Shanghai Automotive had become increasingly embarrassed by the behaviour of Chery and was looking for a way to divest itself of its stake – given by Chery for free in 2001 in return for the right to use its brand and technology.
