BMW loses Clonewars Italian court battle
Take a close look at the image. A court in Italy has just ruled that the crossover pictured above, the five-seat CEO built by Shuanghuan Automobile of Shijiazhuang, China, is not a clone of the BMW X5. Um... yeah. The legal battles began when Shuanghuan introduced their "Noble" last year, a near-clone of the Smart fortwo. Mercedes-Benz wasn't impressed, and threatened a lawsuit. Shortly thereafter, BMW started losing sleep over the Chinese CEO, an obvious facsimile of their previous-generation X5 (E53). The Bavarian automaker took Shuanghuan to court in Munich this past summer and won their case, and when Martin Motors (the distributor of Shuanghuan Automobiles in Italy and central Europe) started selling the CEO in early 2007, BMW again took legal action, this time in the Italian judicial system.
Last week, the Germans met their defeat when the Italian courts rejected their claims. To date, Martin Motors has sold about 200 copies of the CEO and expects to sell about 1200 this year in their European markets. "We are convinced the CEO wasn't a clone of the X5. We are happy to see our view supported by a court ruling," said an obviously pleased spokesperson from Martin Motors. We have to wonder how quickly the Italians would change their tune if Shuanghuan began to knock-off the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4.
[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
MikeInNC 8:10AM (12/19/2008)
Wow, when they say justice is blind, I guess they aren't kidding.
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Sea Urchin 8:30AM (12/19/2008)
I am sorry but the Chinese have no pride what so even, their entire culture, existence and being is illegally copying someone else.
compy386 9:10AM (12/19/2008)
@Sea Urchin
Wow racist much? I'm sure you've done extensive study on Chinese culture through the histories to determine this? No? At least learn to spell.
Bubbles 9:24AM (12/19/2008)
@Compy386
I'm having a hard time seeing what's so racist about what Sea Urchin said. Plus, the Chinese aren't a race, they are a nationality. Also, I'm pretty sure Sea Urchin knows how to spell or else his comments would be as incoherent as yours. Finally, while I don't agree with Sea Urchin, this type of copying is blatant and the Chinese behind it should be shameful.
Artie Lange 9:25AM (12/19/2008)
The last time I checked, "Chinese" is not a race. The reality is, the Chinese are the biggest perpetrators of intellectual property piracy. They have yet to produce an original idea. You're nothing but a demagogue, Compy386.
Carletti 10:43AM (12/19/2008)
Agree with Sea Urchin. And the same can be said of the Japanese and the Koreans. They have no ingenuity, no original design and no passion. Their cars are built to copy Europeans (Lexus, Hyundai, Honda) and Americans (Toyota trucks, Nissan trucks) and then offer them at a low price. No secret.
big j 11:00AM (12/19/2008)
Sea Urchin,
wow, not racist? are you kidding me? What is it with you ignorant people that seem completely oblivious to any thing before 2007?
It's like saying the Americans have no integrity, invading an entire country slaughtering tens of thousands for the sake of oil. or for the sake of spreading democracy. (Vietnam and Korean wars for those of you who are clueless).
Their entire existence? Ever wonder where paper came from? How about that gunpowder the armed forces are currently using over in Iraq? How about the whole entire paper money system?
You are most definitely a shining example of ignorance at its finest. Go vote for Bush or something.
Sea Urchin 12:24PM (12/19/2008)
All i mean to say was that today Chinese companies and Chinese government basically copy Western and Japanese and Korean companies, and they are 100% OK with that, they are proud of it.
You do not see Tata simply copying a US car, no they designed their own car. Chinese, they don't even hide the fact they they copy.
I read last week that Microsoft tried to put a software into Vista that detects if your Microsoft software is legal....Chinese were so outraged they sued Microsoft in China......They were outraged not at them having illegal software but at Microsoft wanting to do something about it.
Pathetic.
jake 2:15PM (12/19/2008)
@Sea Urchin
Sorry man, I have to agree with compy386 & big j. Racist may not be the right term, but stereotypical probably is. It's like the stereotypes that most of the world has on Americans, it may be true for a sizable amount of people, but definitely not true of everyone and not even necessarily the majority. You probably shouldn't add the culture part, because that part is arguable (and you need extensive knowledge of Chinese culture to argue it). What's not arguable is the Chinese government itself often disregards intellectual property.
Randy915 4:56PM (12/19/2008)
Urchin, while reading this news piece the first thought that popped into my head was "I wonder if the Chinese will be brought up" and sure enough you came to the rescue.
Stop the pathetic attempt at trying to defend yourself, you are racist against the Chinese. There's no other way around it.
big j 5:05PM (12/19/2008)
Sea Urchin,
"All i mean to say was that today Chinese companies and Chinese government basically copy Western and Japanese and Korean companies, and they are 100% OK with that, they are proud of it."
Goodness, how ignorant and close minded can you be?
Or is it me?
Because of course because Hyundai has never ever "borrowed" styling from the Germans before, and you know damn well of course the Japanese lux brands couldn't think of such a thing when they first starting launching their line ups.
And of course b/c the Germans never copy each other like how Mercedes is now implementing LED's in their DRL's in their next gen models, or is that okay because Germans can copy each other because they're all German?
hbh 8:13AM (12/19/2008)
Seriously though, where's the harm? I mean sure, some people will probably buy this car because it looks like a BMW, other's will buy it because it's a cheap SUV (and very probably a pretty dismal one, at that). But the thing is, everyone knows the original design is BMW's, and it's a good and succesful design, otherwise our Chinese friends wouldn't be copying it. It's just that we've grown so accustomed to copyright laws and other legislative actions taken to protect original ideas that we've forgotten that those laws are just something we came up with fairly recently. It's not like they're set in stone, right? Is it in every way a bad thing that good designs get copied? The individualistic way of thought that is so dominant in the western world is simply not the way many Chinese think. They see a good design, they make a few adjustments on their own (not necessarily to the better) and they market a product that can be either seen as a clone or a hommage to the original design. Which way you see it depends on your point of view, no one can say that one is better than the other.
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Josiah 8:32AM (12/19/2008)
I guess the issue is when/if the Chinese get really good at copying the real thing, and the lines get blurred even more. Also, I know plenty of women (and some men) who wouldn't have a clue this thing wasn't a BMW.
K Ryan Hasse 9:28AM (12/19/2008)
I'm inclined to side w/ "hbh" on this one. I understand the purpose of intellectual property laws, but I also understand them to be canted toward what I like to call a "devine right to stagnation", as if the IP lawyers are arguing "I hold the patent on the cube shaped car, so damn it, no one else can use the cube when designing a car!" Of course, this line of thinking fosters a growing sense of entitlement among all people and corporations, which, as it turns out, lines the pockets of IP attorneys all too willing to sue, sue, sue. Neat little racket, no?
But what if the design of the CEO were even closer to the BMW? An exact clone. I mean, right down to the failed power window actuator at 13,000 miles, or the shorted out HVAC controls at 17,000 miles. What if the CEO even copied the front strut failure at 23,000 miles, and the snooty dealership experience telling their repeat customer that there is nothing wrong with the $61,000 purchase, that everything was "in spec", or that "This is a BMW. BMWs are wonderful to drive, but require many compromises (read: maintenance $) to achieve driving perfection. If you wanted a trouble free car that drove like crap, you should have bought a Toyota." What if that's how closely Shuanghuan copied BMW?
What we'd have here folks is what Walmart deals with everyday on its shelves. A presumed "good" DVD player (Sony), and a presumed "discount" or "bad" DVD player (Suny -with StereoPhonic Super Sound! -You Buy, You Like!). At the end of the day, each mark's reputation is what they have to protect. Frankly, that's up to BMW to earn, not litigate.
So, I say let them copy. Let 'em all copy away at each other. And then let the copiers try to earn themselves out of a reputation of making cheap copies of expensive marks. I can't think of an example where this strategy actually worked long term, without the copier eventually making a quality product in the end (Hyundai). As long as there is no true fraud (like trying to pass the CEO as a genuine BMW X5), and as long as all buyer's beware (a responsibility We the Entitled tend to shirk), there's truly no harm done.
In fact, we the buyers, win.
Read Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, John Locke, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson.
hoov23 10:09AM (12/19/2008)
The problem I have with these Chinese automakers is their lack concern for modern day safety standards, unregulated pollution in their native country, hypocritical uneven distribution of wealth, and of course their disregard of intellectual property laws (recent as they may be, I'm sure they got the memo). I dread the day when American consumers can go to a dealership and purchase a Chinese car, because I know they will sell to our low-income households just as well as Hyundais, Kias, Geos, and other cheap cars have. Meanwhile unemployment is through the roof and one of America's cornerstone industries is faltering. Here's an idea - tarriffs for carmakers who have previously not imported cars to the USA (Alfa just made the cutoff) to prevent new imported car brands at a time when our own car industry needs as many prospective customers as they can get. No one can claim that they don't already have enough choices, and if they want a Cherry or Geely so badly they can pay the tax to buy it instead of a Cruze or a Focus.
RG 8:27AM (12/19/2008)
Didn't an Italian reject the sale of a Chinese Fiat Panda look alike? I guess they are more concerned with preserving Italian company designs than anyone elses.
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RG 8:27AM (12/19/2008)
Sorry, Italian court
Sebastien 8:42AM (12/19/2008)
Sorry, but when I look at pictures of the front, I can't say it's a X5 clone. Maybe more a CRV in fact.
But then again, it's similar but not clone. If this is a clone, what about most of the Hyundai?
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none 2:47PM (12/19/2008)
What about most Hyundai what? Can't you tell difference blatant copy from inspiration?
Stowb 8:35AM (12/19/2008)
Courts called it right. There are a lot of similarities, but there are just as many differences, and they would NEVER be mistaken for each other from the front. CEO also just doesn't have the same fit, finish, and flow of the BMW. JEEP would have as much right to sue them over the old Grand Cherokee design. Get real. Lawsuit was a waste of time and energy...
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