Rolls-Royce considering trademark suit against
Geely GE
Earlier this
week, we showed you the first live shots of Chinese automaker Geely's new
GE model, a three-seat luxury sedan unveiled at the
Shanghai Motor Show. With its gigantic, upright waterfall grille,
boxy proportions, Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament, and LED
starlight headliner, it didn't take an enthusiast's eye to see that
Geely is openly aping the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Understandably, that development hasn't been sitting well with
Rolls-Royce officials, who promptly got on the horn to their
lawyers after clapping their eyes on the GE. While the British
luxury firm has stopped short of saying they intend to sue,
according to an article in the U.K. Telegraph, a Rolls-Royce
spokesman admits "Rolls-Royce is currently keeping its options open
and is in consultation with its legal advisers."
At an estimated £30,000 – around $44k USD – for the GE (versus
£250,000/$365k for the Phantom), it could be argued that few are
likely to confuse the two vehicles, but even still, critics argue
that Roller would appear to have a compelling case that cars like
the GE are not only intellectual property theft, but that they
could also serve to erode brand equity of the genuine
article.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/23/rolls-royce-considering-trademark-suit-against-geely-ge/
