Toyota, Geely trademark suit continues

Toyota, Geely trademark suit continues

BEIJING: Toyota and Chinese car maker Geely Group said on
Tuesday they have failed to reach a settlement over a trademark
infringement dispute.

"Toyota wanted to impose unmerited allegations of trademark
infringement and illicit competition on Geely... that is why the
two parties didn't reach a settlement," said Lou Tao, Geely's
legal consultant.

Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest automaker, has sued Geely
for 14 million yuan (US$1.7 million) in damages alleging
intellectual property right violations.

It alleges Geely's 'Merry' compact car logo is very similar to
Toyota's and that Geely even used Toyota's name in its publicity
campaigns.

Geely claims it registered the trademark with the State
Trademark Administration in 1996, while mentioning Toyota's name
in adverts was because Geely used '8A' engines purchased from
Toyota's engine subsidiary, Tianjin Toyota Motor Engine Company.

"Geely had purchased engines worth nearly 400 million yuan
($48 million) from Tianjin Toyota," Lou said.

He added that Tianjin Toyota issued a written statement in
2001 to Geely saying Toyota 8A engines were produced by Tianjin
Toyota.

The case was brought to a Beijing court last week and marked
the first lawsuit involving a foreign auto manufacturer in China
since the country joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in
December 2001.

Toyota makes about 50,000 vehicles annually in China, while
Geely, based in China's eastern city of Hangzhou, sold 31,000
compact cars in the first six months of the year.-- AFP