Photo: Land Rover
Back in 2016, Jaguar Land Rover filed a complaint against the Volkswagen Group in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia over the Bentley Bentayga. More to the point, the all-terrain option provides off-road driving mods that are remotely similar to the Terrain Response system in the Range Rover.
Bentley filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, the court dismissed it, and the case has yet to be resolved. Jaguar Land Rover has recently filed a second complaint against the German group over the same problem, namely “certain vehicle control systems” found in Audis, Lambos, Porsches, and Volkswagens.
According to a document filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission, “the complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930.” But this time around, Jaguar Land Rover is more aggressive than four years ago.
“The complainant requests the Commission to issue a limited exclusion order, cease and desist orders, and impose a bond upon the respondents’ alleged infringing articles.” Indeed, ladies and gentlemen; the British automaker is trying to ban the import of Q7s, Cayennes, Uruses, and Bentaygas in the United States. Even the lowly Tiguan is equipped with driving modes, and this could prove troublesome for the VW Group if the German automaker has indeed infringed on the technology.
Don’t go thinking that this legal conflict will end in a matter of weeks or months. The ITC needs more than a year to complete an investigation, and while the agency has the power to ban imports, only federal courts are able to award damages for infringement.
Registered as USRE46828E1 with in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the patent for Terrain Response is described as “a vehicle control system” with a plurality of subsystem controllers and subsystem modes connected to a vehicle mode controller. "Each of the modes corresponds to a particular driving condition or set of conditions."
Given the abstractness of it all and the widespread implementation of driving modes in modern SUVs, this case appears to be a little bit exaggerated.
According to a document filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission, “the complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930.” But this time around, Jaguar Land Rover is more aggressive than four years ago.
“The complainant requests the Commission to issue a limited exclusion order, cease and desist orders, and impose a bond upon the respondents’ alleged infringing articles.” Indeed, ladies and gentlemen; the British automaker is trying to ban the import of Q7s, Cayennes, Uruses, and Bentaygas in the United States. Even the lowly Tiguan is equipped with driving modes, and this could prove troublesome for the VW Group if the German automaker has indeed infringed on the technology.
Don’t go thinking that this legal conflict will end in a matter of weeks or months. The ITC needs more than a year to complete an investigation, and while the agency has the power to ban imports, only federal courts are able to award damages for infringement.
Registered as USRE46828E1 with in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the patent for Terrain Response is described as “a vehicle control system” with a plurality of subsystem controllers and subsystem modes connected to a vehicle mode controller. "Each of the modes corresponds to a particular driving condition or set of conditions."
Given the abstractness of it all and the widespread implementation of driving modes in modern SUVs, this case appears to be a little bit exaggerated.
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