Across the Dutch courts, a quieter question about imitation is slowly taking shape: when one maker's design looks like another's, who must prove what, and when? A judge has ordered Jaguar Land Rover to destroy material seized from BYD's offices, yet has stopped short of deciding whether the Ti 7 truly echoes the Defender, since the car has not yet reached showrooms. The ruling marks a pause rather than a verdict, in a long human story of rivals measuring their ambitions against one another. The larger claims will be tested later in The Hague and Rotterdam, where the question of copying still w
Jaguar Land Rover Ordered to Destroy Evidence Seized in Raids on BYD Over 'Copycat Defender' Claims
Across the Dutch courts, a quieter question about imitation is slowly taking shape: when one maker's design looks like another's, who must prove what, and when? A judge has ordered Jaguar Land Rover to destroy material seized from BYD's offices, yet has stopped short of deciding whether the Ti 7 truly echoes the Defender, since the car has not yet reached showrooms. The ruling marks a pause rather than a verdict, in a long human story of rivals measuring their ambitions against one another. The larger claims will be tested later in The Hague and Rotterdam, where the question of copying still waits to be answered.
A Dutch judge has told Jaguar Land Rover to destroy the documents it seized from BYD's offices, giving it 24 hours or a fine of €500,000. The order, handed down on Wednesday, is the first ruling in a dispute over whether BYD's new Ti 7 copies the Land Rover Defender.
The records came from August raids on two BYD sites in the Netherlands, carried out by court-appointed bailiffs. JLR had sought the searches to learn whether BYD had taken a Defender apart to copy its technology, and the seized material included paper files and copies of BYD's computer systems.
The judge found the seized information was not needed for JLR to bring its case, and he said the company could not yet prove harm from a car that has not gone on sale. He made no finding on the copycat claims, which will be fought separately in The Hague and Rotterdam, where JLR is seeking to stop BYD selling the Ti 7 in Europe.
The car has drawn open comparisons to the Defender, and is expected in the UK next year at around £47,995, roughly £20,000 below its rival. JLR has won a similar fight before, against Jiangling Motor over the Landwind X7 in 2019. For now, the substance of the copying question remains undecided.
A Dutch judge has told Jaguar Land Rover to destroy the documents it took from the offices of its Chinese rival BYD, and to do it within 24 hours or face a fine of €500,000 (£440,000). The order, handed down on Wednesday, is the first ruling in a dispute between the two car makers over whether BYD's new Ti 7 copies the Land Rover Defender.
The records came from raids in August on two BYD offices in the Netherlands, in Schiedam and Hoofddorp. Court-appointed bailiffs carried them out, and the material was held on JLR's behalf. It included paper documents and copies of BYD's computer systems. JLR had won permission for the searches to establish whether BYD took a Defender apart to reverse-engineer its technology.
It is understood that JLR also wanted to confirm whether BYD planned to launch the Ti 7 in the UK and Europe. Those plans have since been confirmed.
The judge, HFR van Heemstra, found that the seized information was not needed for JLR to bring a case against BYD. He also said JLR could not yet prove it had been harmed by the Ti 7, because the car has not gone on sale. He made no finding on the wider copycat claims, which will be litigated separately.
Those claims are already in the Dutch courts. JLR has brought intellectual property claims under EU design rights law in The Hague, and copyright and "slavish-imitation" claims in Rotterdam. JLR is seeking to block BYD from selling the car in Europe.
The Ti 7 has drawn open comparisons to the Defender. The BBC's Top Gear magazine has called it a "Chinese Defender clone". It is expected to reach the UK next year at £47,995, roughly £20,000 below the Defender, which starts at just under £72,000.
The case is being watched as a major test of allegations that Chinese manufacturers are launching copycats of Western cars, with designs that have attracted strong comparisons to their rivals. JLR has won a case like this before: in 2019 it prevailed against Jiangling Motor Corporation, arguing that the Landwind X7 was a lookalike of the Range Rover Evoque.
A JLR spokesman declined to comment immediately, and BYD has been approached for comment. What to watch next is the proceedings in The Hague and Rotterdam, where the substance of the copying claims will be decided.
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