Land Rover seeks sales ban on VW Group for use of patented tech
The ban JLR seeks, is on grounds that the German Company is using JLR's patented Terrain Response System without permission.
The SUV market has only gotten more competitive over recent time. You have an SUV for everything and at just about every price-point, and with so many brands in the mix, you would expect things to get a little (or a bit more than a little) hostile at times. So it’s no surprise that one automaker has already accused another of stealing its patented technology.
The automaker, in this case, happens to be Jaguar Land Rover, and according to BloombergQuint, the British-marque has asked the US International Trade Commission to block the sale of Several VW group SUVs. The ban that JLR seeks, is on grounds that the German Company is using JLR’s patented Terrain Response System without permission.
The block in VW Group sales could affect several popular models including the Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus, VW Tiguan, and a number of Audi models, giving VW sales a big blow.
JLR calls its Terrain response system “a differentiator” on its site. Now, if you’ve ever driven a recent JLR SUV, especially offroad, chances are you probably have been amazed at the capabilities, and also that very Terrain response system, which with its different offroad modes, can let you rock crawl and clear big obstacles while you’re eating cherry pie. The system optimizes braking, engine, and gearbox parameters for the surface you’re driving on to deliver better off-road performance.
BloombergQuint also notes the fact that JLR has already sued Bentley for its Driver Dynamics system in the Bentayga, which Bentley failed to have dismissed and is headed to trial in February.
Considering that the Bentayga shares its underpinnings with other VW Group cars, it was only a matter of time before JLR went after them. The US International Trade Commission has yet to begin its investigation into the matter, which could put any decision into 2023. VW Group didn’t offer to BloombergQuint any comment about the allegations, but we expect nothing less than a fierce legal battle between the two companies.
