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Land Rover settles with VW over too-similar off-road tech lawsuit

The British marque had originally sought to block U.S. imports of Tiguans, Cayennes, and Uruses over what it claimed was infringement

Susan Decker and Christopher Yasiejko, Bloomberg
Oct 06, 2021  •  October 6, 2021  •  1 minute read  •  Join the conversation
Land Rover Defender V8
Land Rover Defender V8 Photo by Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover has settled patent fights it lodged against Volkswagen and its brands over a feature used in luxury sport utility vehicles that simplifies off-road driving for affluent but inexperienced drivers.

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The agreements resolve litigation in Germany and the U.S., but other terms of the deals weren’t disclosed in filings with courts in New Jersey, Delaware, and Virginia and with the International Trade Commission in Washington.

The settlements came about a week before Jaguar Land Rover, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, was to begin a trial in which it was seeking to block imports to the U.S. of VW’s Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi, and Volkswagen sport utility vehicles that Land Rover claimed used its patented Terrain Response technology without permission.

The dispute was over an invention in which a simple turn of a knob instructs the vehicle systems to adapt to different terrains. It’s a key feature in Jaguar’s F-Pace and Land Rover Discovery vehicles. JLR’s Land Rover division, the original maker of rugged all-terrain vehicles, filed the complaints after super-luxury automakers began moving into the SUV market.

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A spokeswoman for VW group declined to comment, and a spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover had no immediate comment.

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Land Rover first sued VW’s Bentley in 2018 over the upscale Bentayga, with a trial expected next year. Bentley wasn’t part of the ITC case filed in November, in which Land Rover sought a halt to imports of Porsche’s Cayenne; Lamborghini’s Urus; Audi’s Q8, Q7, Q5, A6 Allroad, and e-tron vehicles; and VW’s Tiguan vehicles.

The cases are In the Matter of Certain Vehicle Control Systems, 337-3508, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington) and Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. v. Bentley Motors Ltd., 2:18-cv-320, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia (Norfolk).

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