[adwaith]

Originally Posted by turbo

There's a prior use clause in the intellectual property law, get a lawyer friend to explain it to you.

I study IP law and I don't believe that's how prior art works.

[LaRoca]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

Honestly, we are being a bit hard on Mahindra.
======
Thar without it looking like a wrangler, perhaps someone who knows about car designing can correct me on this.

Why can't we just admit the Thar is a modern day copy of the Wrangler?

A copy is still a copy whether it is an year old or forty.

[tanbeamer]

Originally Posted by condor

Mahindra sure has the audacity to test the waters with a blatant look-alike. Naturally, FCA drags them to court.

Even if FCA had not objected to this being sold along side there, most people would likely choose the original Jeep than the Thar.

IMO, All that Mahindra had to do - use the new Scorpio facia on the Thar, and sell it as the Thar. This approach would have opened the markets across all countries that Mahindra is in.

FCA has not objected to the Thar in India. But if they do, then it's a separate story.

Well, what I don't get is why the Bolero Invader wasn't used as a base for making the Thar in the first place. Would have been one handsome lifestyle vehicle with an original design

[condor]

Originally Posted by adwaith

I study IP law and I don't believe that's how prior art works.

It would have helped if you had explained it for all of us here.

On a lighter note, I hope you are not looking for a lawyers fee before sharing the knowledge on this

[IN07KL0484]

Let's just say its a copy and no two ways about it!

But I think Mahindra has realised that this will not work in the long haul especially if they want to have an international presence! The whole appointment of Mr. Bose is in line with the same and I see a subtle but definite change in the design philosophy of Mahindra. Still quite a few years away but would love to see his take on Thar, XUV and Scorpio!!

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by tanbeamer

Well, what I don't get is why the Bolero Invader wasn't used as a base for making the Thar in the first place. Would have been one handsome lifestyle vehicle with an original design

It may have been handsome, but it wouldn't look like a Jeep Wrangler at 1/3 the cost then, would it?

The whole idea of a new Mahindra Jeep is to retain the Jeep loyalists and bring in the new customers who aspire to the Jeep Lifestyle.

[satyamkolhe]

Originally Posted by suneel

To everyone who so is so strongly defending Mahindra, perhaps this will jog your memory of their ethical design philosophy:

The Mahindra Stinger Concept from 2018 vs the Range Rover Evoque

https://Youtu.be/uT5ksRuRdK8

I don't really agree with you on this one. But I agree to the fact that Mahindra has been copying designs and not just from jeep. Just look at one of their highest selling cars for a decade now - Bolero.

[justwheels]

Well I think should FCA sue Mahindra in India is only one part of the question. What if they actually do?

1. If they do, any IPR experts here to say where this could go?

2. What about the thousands of Thars already sold ? Any impact if hypothetically we say FCA wins this in India.

3. FCA is not a very successful franchise in India, would they want to get into legal fights in a country where rulings can be delayed and a win would mean what in sales numbers (selling the same number of wranglers as earlier). Unless FCA wants to 100% manufacture it in India and sell it at some mouth watering price in future.

[Mustang Sammy]

Originally Posted by suneel

To everyone who so is so strongly defending Mahindra, perhaps this will jog your memory of their ethical design philosophy:

The Mahindra Stinger Concept from 2018 vs the Range Rover Evoque

https://Youtu.be/uT5ksRuRdK8

Not to defend Mahindra, but everyone does it or has done it at some point.
In my travels to Korea in the early to mid 2000s, I saw plenty of Hyundais that were (to put it mildly) inspired by Jaguar, MB, Toyota and Honda.
I’m sure we will see a unique Mahindra design language mature in the next few years.

[kadanaJ]

This may not seem like a fair argument to many (and legally it's certainly wrong), but we have to consider the following:

- Jeep was set up in America in the 1st half of the 1900's, and enjoyed many benefits of the place and era
- India was too busy being colonized by the British at the same time. Not exactly an ideal environment for innovation

So take the copyrights and patents of the western world from that period with a grain of salt. There's a reason China doesn't have much respect for western IP either.

India was at a huge disadvantage when the Jeep IP was created. Makes no sense to play fair today.

[adwaith]

Originally Posted by condor

It would have helped if you had explained it for all of us here.

On a lighter note, I hope you are not looking for a lawyers fee before sharing the knowledge on this

Haha! I would like to indulge in pro bono as well and I shall consider this as such a scenario.

Prior art is something one can rely on to generally disprove another's claim by citing an example of something that is already in use.

The new Wrangler came about in 2019 whereas Mahindra owns the rights in India to the Wrangler that was produced until 2006. In my opinion, there is no prior art present that can disprove FCA's claim considering the design of 2018 Wrangler is quite different from the one produced until 2006 and the fact that the new Thar mimics the 2018 Wrangler.

[volkman10]

With major restyle in the offing, Mahindra Thar back in line for Australia.

Jeep Wrangler look-a-like – the Mahindra Thar from India – could be back in line for Australia after a major redesign.

The on-again, off-again plans to bring the Mahindra Thar – a copycat design of the Jeep Wrangler – to Australia could be back on again after Drive spotted several test vehicles at Mahindra’s proving ground just outside of Chennai, in India.

The heavily camouflaged test vehicles – including long-wheel base five-door variants – revealed little in the way of the redesign undertaken by Mahindra in the wake of its legal battle with US giant Jeep.

Mahindra has been forced to remodel the Thar after a ruling in Australia’s Federal Court claimed it looked too similar to the Jeep Wrangler, which forced the Indian car company to shelve plans to import the Mahindra Thar to Australia.

However, Mahindra can re-apply to bring the Thar to Australia if the design has changed significantly – and if Jeep Australia and/or Jeep US grant approval beforehand.

Regional head of Mahindra Automotive, told Australian media,

The Thar in its current form will not be coming into any international markets … we are working on a differently stylised car with a different value proposition, which is suitable for international markets

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