本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Chinese court rules against Toyota brand
By Richard McGregor in Shanghai
The first lawsuit by a foreign car company against one of China's new, fast-growing automakers for alleged copyright violation has been thrown out by a Beijing court in a case watched closely by multinational manufacturers.
The Beijing Second Intermediate Court rejected claims from Toyota that Geely, China's largest private carmaker, had stolen the Japanese company's logo for use on its "Meiri" sedan and had also used its name in promoting the Chinese car.
Perhaps of greater concern for foreign manufacturers, the court indicated it did not recognise Toyota's logo, used on cars around the world, as a "distinctive brand in China" which required protection.
Although the decision will not set a precedent under China's legal system, it will be studied closely by other foreign carmakers which have battled to protect their intellectual property rights in the country.
General Motors, the world's largest car company, is now weighing up whether to take action against Chery, another upstart Chinese auto manufacturer, based in Anhui province, for intellectual property rights violations.
GM has said it is investigating whether the two cars made by Chery were copied from designs that originated at its Daewoo unit in South Korea.
In a statement released on Monday, Geely said its victory would spur the company to invest further in its own designs and logos.
"The long march of China's national auto industry needs continuous hard work and endeavour from hundreds and thousands of companies like Geely," the company said in a statement.
Geely, which had used a Toyota engine under licence in the past, said its existence would have been under threat if it had not developed its own engine technology.
"Now, we have adequately accumulated some core technologies, and are capable of producing engines of a higher technology content ourselves," the statement said.
Toyota's setback will not have any impact on its plans to invest $2.5bn in China, where it has set an ambitious target of 10 per cent market share by 2010 compared with a negligible level now.
A spokeswoman for Toyota said the company was studying the judgement.
Other foreign carmakers continue to maintain a rosy outlook for the sedan market, which has so far grown 70 per cent in 2003 compared to 2002 and is on track to record annual sales of 2m this year.
Executives overseeing the joint venture between Nissan and Dongfeng Motor said on Monday the company aimed to double sales by 2007 to have a market share of over 10 per cent.
This will bring the venture sales of 620,000 units, divided almost equally between cars and commercial vehicles, up from about 300,000 this year.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
By Richard McGregor in Shanghai
The first lawsuit by a foreign car company against one of China's new, fast-growing automakers for alleged copyright violation has been thrown out by a Beijing court in a case watched closely by multinational manufacturers.
The Beijing Second Intermediate Court rejected claims from Toyota that Geely, China's largest private carmaker, had stolen the Japanese company's logo for use on its "Meiri" sedan and had also used its name in promoting the Chinese car.
Perhaps of greater concern for foreign manufacturers, the court indicated it did not recognise Toyota's logo, used on cars around the world, as a "distinctive brand in China" which required protection.
Although the decision will not set a precedent under China's legal system, it will be studied closely by other foreign carmakers which have battled to protect their intellectual property rights in the country.
General Motors, the world's largest car company, is now weighing up whether to take action against Chery, another upstart Chinese auto manufacturer, based in Anhui province, for intellectual property rights violations.
GM has said it is investigating whether the two cars made by Chery were copied from designs that originated at its Daewoo unit in South Korea.
In a statement released on Monday, Geely said its victory would spur the company to invest further in its own designs and logos.
"The long march of China's national auto industry needs continuous hard work and endeavour from hundreds and thousands of companies like Geely," the company said in a statement.
Geely, which had used a Toyota engine under licence in the past, said its existence would have been under threat if it had not developed its own engine technology.
"Now, we have adequately accumulated some core technologies, and are capable of producing engines of a higher technology content ourselves," the statement said.
Toyota's setback will not have any impact on its plans to invest $2.5bn in China, where it has set an ambitious target of 10 per cent market share by 2010 compared with a negligible level now.
A spokeswoman for Toyota said the company was studying the judgement.
Other foreign carmakers continue to maintain a rosy outlook for the sedan market, which has so far grown 70 per cent in 2003 compared to 2002 and is on track to record annual sales of 2m this year.
Executives overseeing the joint venture between Nissan and Dongfeng Motor said on Monday the company aimed to double sales by 2007 to have a market share of over 10 per cent.
This will bring the venture sales of 620,000 units, divided almost equally between cars and commercial vehicles, up from about 300,000 this year.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net