Photo: Jaguar Land Rover
A conflict that started years ago has finally been resolved as Jaguar Land Rover has decided to end litigation against the Volkswagen Group over SUV off-road technology infringement. It all started back in 2016 when the British carmaker filed a complaint claiming that the Bentley Bentayga’s all-terrain system was too similar to the Terrain Response system in the Range Rover.
Subsequently, JLR then tried to block imports into the U.S. for several VW Group SUVs, claiming those vehicles had utilized its patented Terrain Response technology without permission.
Now the two companies have reached an agreement to resolve litigation in both Germany and the U.S., although other terms of the deal weren’t disclosed in filings with courts in New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia and with the International Trade Commission in Washington, reports Autonews Europe.
Jaguar had the “potential to win over $200 million a year in licensing income from its patent-infringement lawsuit against Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini and Volkswagen, in our favorable event-risk view,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, Joel Levington.
Interestingly enough, Bentley wasn’t part of the ITC case filed in November, when JLR tried to halt imports of the Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus, Audi Q8, Q7, Q5, A6 Allroad and the e-tron, as well as the VW Tiguan. The dispute was centered around the concept of having the vehicle’s systems adapt to different terrains using a simple turn of a knob – a key feature in both Jaguar and Land Rover models.
As of right now, a VW spokeswoman has declined to comment on the matter, while a spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover had no immediate comment.
Now, in all fairness, this case seemed a little exaggerated from the get-go, considering the abstract nature of the Terrain Response system patent, which is described as “a vehicle control system” featuring a plurality of subsystem controllers and subsystem modes connected to a vehicle mode controller.
Now the two companies have reached an agreement to resolve litigation in both Germany and the U.S., although other terms of the deal weren’t disclosed in filings with courts in New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia and with the International Trade Commission in Washington, reports Autonews Europe.
Jaguar had the “potential to win over $200 million a year in licensing income from its patent-infringement lawsuit against Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini and Volkswagen, in our favorable event-risk view,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, Joel Levington.
Interestingly enough, Bentley wasn’t part of the ITC case filed in November, when JLR tried to halt imports of the Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus, Audi Q8, Q7, Q5, A6 Allroad and the e-tron, as well as the VW Tiguan. The dispute was centered around the concept of having the vehicle’s systems adapt to different terrains using a simple turn of a knob – a key feature in both Jaguar and Land Rover models.
As of right now, a VW spokeswoman has declined to comment on the matter, while a spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover had no immediate comment.
Now, in all fairness, this case seemed a little exaggerated from the get-go, considering the abstract nature of the Terrain Response system patent, which is described as “a vehicle control system” featuring a plurality of subsystem controllers and subsystem modes connected to a vehicle mode controller.
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