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