Photo: Ineos Automotive
A little over a month ago, Ineos Automotive officially unveiled its very first car: the Grenadier off-roader. Said to be unlike any other on the market, Grenadier instantly drew comparisons to the old Land Rover Defender and the Mercedes G-Class.
There was a history behind the Grenadier that also tied it directly to the Defender. Sir Jim Ratcliffe owns petrochemical giant Ineos and, a few years ago, wanted to buy the Defender line before it was killed off. His offer was turned down so there he was, sitting in a pub with a friend, talking about building his very own Defender-style off-roader.
Three years later, the Grenadier came to be – named so after the pub where Ratcliffe first got the idea for it. At the official presentation, which included the announcement for a late 2021 delivery, Ineos said the Grenadier was undergoing real-world testing and would be released internationally.
Jaguar Land Rover sued Ineos in their home-country, the UK, saying that Grenadier was a shameless ripoff of the iconic Defender design – in more or less words. According to Bloomberg, earlier this week, in what can only be dubbed a most surprising and unwelcome twist, the court decided that JLR can’t trademark those design elements.
Sure, the Defender is iconic and those design elements mean a lot to JLR enthusiasts, the court agreed. At the same time, though, a regular buyer wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. The trademark suit has been tossed out, which means that, at least in the UK, Ineos will be able to sell the Grenadier.
That said, JLR may have lost the battle but the war is far from over. Each territory has different trademark laws, and JRL could still – and will probably – sue Ineos in all the other markets it plans on selling the Grenadier.
Three years later, the Grenadier came to be – named so after the pub where Ratcliffe first got the idea for it. At the official presentation, which included the announcement for a late 2021 delivery, Ineos said the Grenadier was undergoing real-world testing and would be released internationally.
Jaguar Land Rover sued Ineos in their home-country, the UK, saying that Grenadier was a shameless ripoff of the iconic Defender design – in more or less words. According to Bloomberg, earlier this week, in what can only be dubbed a most surprising and unwelcome twist, the court decided that JLR can’t trademark those design elements.
Sure, the Defender is iconic and those design elements mean a lot to JLR enthusiasts, the court agreed. At the same time, though, a regular buyer wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. The trademark suit has been tossed out, which means that, at least in the UK, Ineos will be able to sell the Grenadier.
That said, JLR may have lost the battle but the war is far from over. Each territory has different trademark laws, and JRL could still – and will probably – sue Ineos in all the other markets it plans on selling the Grenadier.
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