Jaguar Land Rover afgør patentkamp med Volkswagen om SUV Tech

Det var over et år siden da Jaguar Land Rover anklager Volkswagen-koncernen of using its patented off-road technology. The Tata-owned company wanted a sales ban for the German group’s SUVs, which include the Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus, VW Tiguan og flere Audi-modeller som mærkets bedst sælgende Q5.

I denne uge kom JLR og VW med et forlig iflg Automotive News, selvom detaljer om forliget endnu ikke er offentliggjort på nuværende tidspunkt. Forliget kom tilsyneladende lige i tide, da JLR var ved at begynde en retssag en uge efter. 

22 pics

Bloombergbemærkede dog, at JLR potentielt kan tjene op til $200 millioner om året i licens på grund af den påståede patent overtrædelse.

To recall, JLR is accusing the VW Group of using the former’s patented Terrain Response system that adjusts several vehicle settings at a press of a button (or twist of a knob). The system allows drivers to select a drive mode – Sand, Rock, Crawl, or Mud – that then optimizes the braking, engine, and gearbox parameters for that surface, boosting off-road performance.

Dette system er naturligvis udstyret i flere Land Rover modeller, samt Jaguar F Pace. JLR wanted the VW Group to stop selling its cars equipped with something similar as this is “Land Rover’s feature and Land Rover’s only.”

This isn’t the first time that JLR fires a patent row on the VW Group. Land Rover filed a lawsuit against Bentley in 2018 for a similar issue with its upscale bentayga. Bentley hasn’t settled that case yet, so a trial is expected to happen in February.

A spokesperson from the VW Group declined to comment about the settlement, while JLR’s spokesperson didn’t provide any immediate statement.

Kilde: https://www.motor1.com/news/537912/jlr-volkswagen-patent-fight-suv/