Indian automobile majors Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Company have decided to amicably settle an acrimonious patent dispute that has been simmering for over a decade over twin-spark plug technology.
In two separate filings, both companies revealed that they have entered into a settlement agreement on Thursday which would see them withdrawing all related pending cases, including a defamation suit filed by TVS Motor Company against Bajaj.
Some of these cases are even pending before courts in overseas jurisdictions including Sri Lanka and Mexico. “TVS Motor Company and Bajaj Auto have entered into a settlement agreement on 31.10.2019 to amicably settle a decade-old dispute relating to alleged infringement of Bajaj’s Patent No.195904, defamation suit by the company against Bajaj and other related proceedings filed against each other, which were pending before the Hon’ble Madras High Court, Hon’ble Bombay High Court, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), Chennai and courts in Sri Lanka and Mexico,” TVS said in its statement.
“Both companies have mutually agreed to withdraw the pending proceedings and release each other from all liabilities, claims, demands and actions in respect of the pending proceedings,” Bajaj said, adding that neither firm is required to pay any compensation or penalty to the other as part of said settlement.
“There will be no impact on financial position of the company due to the agreement,” it said. The dispute was the first among several patent fights between the two automobile majors over the past decade.
The spat began in 2007, when Bajaj Auto had accused TVS of infringing on its patent for the branded DTS-i (digital twin spark plug ignition) technology.
According to Bajaj’s allegations, TVS’ CCVTi technology used in its Flame 125cc motorcycle was a copy of its DTS-i system, used in popular models like the Pulsar.