Jaguar Land Rover vs BYD: British firm ordered to destroy seized data in Defender copycat case

Jaguar Land Rover has been ordered to destroy seized materials following a raid on BYD offices in the Netherlands. This comes as the British giant alleges the BYD Ti7 is a “slavish imitation” of the iconic Land Rover Defender, although no infringement of intellectual property rights have yet been proven.

In August, JLR bailiffs executed an ‘ex parte’ (in other words, without prior warning to the defendant) seizure of digital files from BYD’s Schiedam and Hoofddorp offices. This follows claims that BYD not only copied the Defender's exterior design for the Ti7 (also known as the Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 in China) but also stripped down an example to reverse-engineer it.

The raid was intended to secure files before they could potentially be deleted by BYD. Branded a “fishing expedition” by the Chinese firm’s lawyers, JLR is said to have recovered files regarding the Ti7’s development, as well as company financial data.

However, a ruling at the District Court of The Hague has now ordered JLR to destroy all seized materials within 24 hours of the ruling or face a fine of up to half a million euros. Judges state that the retrieval of such documents was unnecessary at this stage to prove any infringement, also pointing out that: “it is not in dispute between the parties that BYD does not currently offer (or has not already sold) the Ti7 on the market in the European Union. The foregoing means that the alleged threatened infringement cannot yet have led to any damage for [JLR].”

When contacted by Auto Express, JLR said that it “does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings”. A BYD UK spokesperson declined to comment for the same reason.

JLR is no stranger to having Chinese brands bring out models that resemble its own. Infamously, the LandWind X7 looked so much like the Range Rover Evoque that JLR won a legal action against its makers. 

More recently, we’ve observed that JLR’s products appear to be a frequent source of ‘inspiration’ for Chinese carmakers. Many Land Rover Defender-esque vehicles are on sale in China, while the hugely popular Jaecoo 7, for instance, has become known colloquially as the ‘Temu Range Rover’ in the UK.

As for the BYD Ti7, Land Rover Defender comparisons have been widespread since it was confirmed the SUV would be coming to the UK market. At five metres in length, it’s a similar size to the Land Rover Defender 110, but with an expected price tag of around £50,000, it’s set to undercut the cheapest 110 by around £20,000.

It doesn’t have anything quite as exotic as the Defender’s available six-cylinder and V8 engines under the bonnet, though. Power comes from the common Chinese car arrangement of a 1.5-litre petrol engine forming part of a plug-in hybrid setup.

A fully-electric version of the BYD Ti7 has been announced in China, but we don’t yet know if it’ll make it to the UK. While attempting to defend its intellectual property in court against BYD, Jaguar Land Rover has entered into a joint venture with rival Chinese automotive giant, Chery. The resulting Freelander 8 SUV will be sold in the UK.  

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