Photo: original photo by autoevolution
Like many other trademark disputes, the one that made Tesla's China expansion difficult has been solved recently. What was the threat that might've made the automaker's offensive problematic?
Right after Tesla Motors has began to show the first prototypes of the Roadster back in 2006, a Chinese businessman named Zhan Baosheng quickly registered two trademarks in its country: tesla.cn and teslamotors.cn. It is very dubious why the owner of a skincare firm has done this, but we're certain he wanted to make a big profit years later, when Tesla Motors would have landed on Chinese soil.
The American electric vehicle manufacturer has offered Mr. Baosheng roughly $322,000 to buy the trademarks and cool off the lawsuit that demanded a sales halt and the shutter of Superchargers in China. But Zhan was not happy with the offer, wanting a whopping $4 million in cash to terminate this legal matter. According to Bloomberg, Mr. Baosheng has agreed only recently to settle the dispute in an amicably way.
It's unknown how much money has changed hands to settle this dispute out of court because neither Zhan nor Tesla wanted to comment. A spokeswoman for the company that makes the Model S has told the previously mentioned publication that "Mr. Zhan has agreed to have the Chinese authorities complete the process of canceling the Tesla trademarks that he had registered or applied for, at no cost to Tesla. Collectively, these actions remove any doubt with respect to Tesla’s undisputed rights to its trademarks in China.”
The American electric vehicle manufacturer has offered Mr. Baosheng roughly $322,000 to buy the trademarks and cool off the lawsuit that demanded a sales halt and the shutter of Superchargers in China. But Zhan was not happy with the offer, wanting a whopping $4 million in cash to terminate this legal matter. According to Bloomberg, Mr. Baosheng has agreed only recently to settle the dispute in an amicably way.
It's unknown how much money has changed hands to settle this dispute out of court because neither Zhan nor Tesla wanted to comment. A spokeswoman for the company that makes the Model S has told the previously mentioned publication that "Mr. Zhan has agreed to have the Chinese authorities complete the process of canceling the Tesla trademarks that he had registered or applied for, at no cost to Tesla. Collectively, these actions remove any doubt with respect to Tesla’s undisputed rights to its trademarks in China.”
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