In a response to the FCA complaint filed with the International Trade Commission (ITC), Mahindra had earlier released a statement that it was aware of the matter and would be responding soon.
And now it has, by filing its own complaint against FCA for a breach of contract, in the United States District Court, Eastern District – Michigan.
NDTV carandbike has a copy of the filing, which states that the grille used on the Roxor is not liable to any copyright infringement as it is unlike the traditional 7-spoke grille that is used on Jeep vehicles.
In 2009, Mahindra and Chrysler had come to an agreement and signed an official contract over the grille the former can use on its vehicles in the United States.
Known internally as ‘Approved Grille Design’, the design used a 4 and a half slat design with the central slat raised slightly and also placed below the Mahindra logo. This is also the design that has been used on the Roxor.
As we reported a few weeks ago, FCA or Fiat Chrysler Automobiles had approached the International Trade Commission in the United States to stop sales of the Mahindra Roxor off-road vehicle that was launched in March 2018.
The new SUV, which cannot be registered for on-road use is based on the Mahindra Thar that we get in India but bears a different grille as Mahindra does not have the rights to use the iconic seven slat grille in the United States.
The iconic seven slat grilles, like the one seen on the Jeep Wrangler has been a trademark of the Jeep brand since inception and features the vertical seven slats combined with two round headlamps and two round foglamps. In comparison, the Roxor used the four and a half slat grille combined with the round headlamps as explained above.
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