INEOS wins legal battle against JLR over Defender’s ‘trademark’ shape
OVER the course of 2016 and 2017 JLR applied for the registration of six three-dimensional shapes of its Series I, Series II, Defender 90 and 110 models (the latter two shapes with and without a rear mounted spare wheel). INEOS contested this application in defence of its own commercial interests and in early October of this year, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) found in favour of INEOS on the basis that the shapes were insufficiently distinctive in character.
By November 2015, INEOS knew that JLR intended to cease mass production of the Defender vehicles. It contacted JLR to discuss whether it was willing to sell tooling and other production equipment so that it could continue to manufacture the Defenders. However, JLR later wrote to INEOS making it clear that it would regard the production of vehicles of the same shape and appearance as the Defender models as a breach of its IP rights and as a misrepresentation that JLR was connected to those vehicles.
After rejecting Ratcliffe’s attempts to buy equipment used to build the Defender, JLR then tried to trademark six variants, it even surveyed 495 UK residents to see if they recognised four pictures of a Defender 90, each from a different angle and with all traditional branding removed.
Unfortunately for Land Rover only 20 to 40 per cent of respondents were confident that the pictures shown to them depicted a Defender. Interestingly, the survey showed significant mis-recognition of the shape as representing a Jeep vehicle!
With the UKIPO ruling that the Defender is not sufficiently distinctive from other 4x4s to justify the trademarks, JLR is now contesting the ruling in the High Court, saying that in fact: “The Defender is an iconic vehicle which is part of Jaguar Land Rover’s past, present and future.”
Ratcliffe has long admired the Defender and INEOS has made no secret of its plan to maintain its iconic boxy design with the Grenadier, with the company saying in 2016 “it is committed to treating the Defender’s much-loved exterior shape like a listed building, making as few modifications as possible”.
While INEOS is developing Grenadier with BMW petrol and diesel-powered engines it has started a feasibility study into the potential for hydrogen fuel cell technology. “With powertrain technology developing at such a fast pace, it’s too early to rule anything in or out,” it added in its statement to LRM. “We will continue to defend its commercial position in this matter,” it adds.