From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 23 Porsche's Attention
"How to say?"

Zhou Tao's expression softened slightly.

This month, the average price of their cars has dropped by more than four thousand, even with promotional discounts.

But the actual sales figures weren't much better.

Even if they lower the price, they still can't compete with the two Star models.

For Leading Automotive

To suffer these losses for no reason is an absolute blow; my heart is bleeding!
"Look at this video, the cars they've built are way too outrageous, they've already gone viral online, and the hype is so high it's impossible to suppress..."

Liu Bin took out his phone and opened the video "Fat Brother Talks Cars".

"I have already gathered the materials, contacted senior executives at Porsche's domestic branch through connections, and even sent an email. I believe that once they notice it, they will definitely take action..."

This is absolute infringement; he'll have to pay back all the profits from selling the car.

"it is good!"

Zhou Tao stood up, his eyes fixed on her.

A sense of pleasure welled up inside him.

OK OK.

Young people starting businesses often lack a sense of self-importance and are overconfident.

Their field is already on the gray area, yet they dare to make the appearance so exaggerated.

Now look what's happened; they've become an internet sensation for sensationalism.

They might end up being sued by a large company.

Now you're dead!

……

……

a few days later.

Magic City.

Porsche headquarters.

As the general distributor responsible for sales and management of Porsche Centers in major cities across mainland China, as well as sales, import and export agency, and operation and promotion of domestically produced Porsches.

The relevant intellectual property rights, including trademarks and market image rights, are also legally registered in China by the mainland subsidiary.

As the executive director, Lucas was one of the key figures responsible for the relevant intellectual property business.

Just now, an internal staff member sent me an email.

"Director, the marketing department said someone submitted a piece of information via email that may involve design patent infringement..."

Lucas opened the email.

Then I saw the relevant information and photos.

The striking resemblance in appearance startled him.

After a moment, one couldn't help but sigh.

"These domestic car companies are really creative... but this kind of imitation is just too clumsy."

I'm just watching for fun.

The proportions are quite accurate, and it's kind of cute.

The male employee said, "Our investigation revealed that it's a domestic company that produces vehicles without the necessary roadworthiness certifications, yet it has already achieved considerable sales volume in the market and is making a profit. Do you think we should arrange for a lawsuit?"

"First, hand the email over to the legal counsel to calculate the other party's profits and the final amount of compensation due to infringement."

Lucas waved his hand dismissively and said.

In cases like this involving infringement, it's important to consider the extent of the infringement and whether it has had a substantial impact on the company's sales.

Second.

It all depends on how much compensation we can get.

Otherwise, litigation would cost manpower and time, and if the compensation is too small, it would not cause any real brand damage.

There's no real benefit to winning this lawsuit.

He didn't want to waste his efforts.

The company won't give him an extra penny of bonus.

soon.

The legal counsel replied.

The other party's actual infringement is minimal.

The probability of ultimately receiving compensation is likely to be 0.

Lucas was a little dumbfounded.

"Oh, that's really surprising. But are you sure you're not mistaken? This is such an obvious imitation, and based on the other party's market output and sales, they probably made tens of millions or even hundreds of millions in profit. How could there be no compensation at all?"

To be honest, that's a bit far-fetched.

Although Lucas didn't want to get involved in the matter.

"Director, based on our analysis of the actual vehicle images, this company is very clever. The parts they copied are our expired design patents. As for the other parts, although there is still a risk of similarity and infringement, the other party has made obvious minor adjustments to the headlights, front face, and body angle. It is actually very complicated to investigate. According to past cases, we are very likely to lose the case. Moreover, the other party did not use a naming method that is close to our trademark, making it difficult to form a chain of evidence."

"Moreover, the vehicles produced by the other party are not even classified as motor vehicles, nor are they within the scope of non-motor vehicles, making them difficult to define under regulations."

The legal counsel replied.

The adjudication process for design patent cases is quite complex.

Back in 10, Land Rover sued the domestically produced "Landwind X7" in court over a design patent case.

That car's appearance is almost identical to that of a Land Rover in terms of overall visual appeal.

However, the final verdict was quite unexpected.

Land Rover lost the case outright.

Because the Landwind X7 was already on the market in China before Land Rover applied for the patent, the court ultimately ruled that Land Rover's patent was invalid.

Of course, this is just a local court ruling.

The case went all the way to the Supreme Court.

The fight lasted for several years.

The legal team has changed several times.

The overall litigation costs and time costs are difficult to trace.

-

It turns out.

There is a big difference between knowing a little about the law and truly understanding the law.

The final judgments will vary drastically.

Even cases like this, which appear to be obvious infringements, can be extremely troublesome to resolve in the end.

"Okay, okay, I get it."

Hearing this baffling explanation, Lucas quickly surrendered.

Fighting such a long and tedious lawsuit often results in no chance of receiving compensation.

It would be better to let him do something meaningful.

He's not a defender of the company's design patents.

I'm just here to work, why are you taking it so seriously!
Didn't think much about it.

Lucas sent the email back.

And an official response was given:
"We have received and registered the relevant materials and evidence submitted by you. After comprehensive assessment, we have determined that the legal conditions for initiating litigation proceedings are not met at this stage, and therefore we will not file a case for the time being. We will reserve the right to pursue relevant prosecutions in accordance with the law, depending on the progress of the investigation."

……

Reading headquarters.

"What do you mean? What does 'refusing to file a case' mean?"

I've been waiting for almost a week.

When Zhou Tao saw the reply to the email, he was dumbfounded.

It's not just him.

Even the other senior executives in the company were stunned when they saw this result!

They're waiting to see what happens.

but now.

Does this mean they're just going to ignore it?
What about the official authority of large corporations?

Don't these foreign companies all value patents very much?

Everyone turned their attention to Vice President Liu Bin.

Liu Bin suddenly felt immense pressure.

He quickly interjected, "Mr. Zhou, it seems Porsche doesn't intend to pursue this matter. Perhaps they find the litigation process troublesome, or there are other factors..."

Zhou Tao was furious: "What do we do now? Our designs are our own, and their designs are plagiarized. If this continues, our sales will only get worse and worse."

He was very angry.

This is utterly underhanded! Their original designs receive no respect from consumers!

That's what it says.

In fact, none of the models under Levdeo Auto have hired separate exterior designers. Instead, they are simply created by internal R&D engineers with relevant experience, based on images of certain mini models from abroad, without even referencing actual vehicles.

After all, professional car exterior design is very expensive. It not only requires consideration of industrial aesthetics and appearance patents, but also complete wind resistance testing and collision protection considerations.

The wind tunnel testing alone can burn through tens of millions of dollars.

Where would Levdeo Auto find the R&D budget?

"Mr. Zhou, please don't worry, I have another plan."

Liu Bin quickly spoke again.

(End of this chapter)