A judge in the Netherlands has ruled that Jaguar Land Rover must return or destroy files that were seized from the Dutch offices of BYD as part of a battle over allegations that the manufacturer copied the design of the Defender when it made its Ti7 SUV.

Bailiffs acting for JLR seized the material in August as part of court-ordered raids to find evidence over claims BYD infringed on the company’s intellectual property. 

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On November 11, judge H.F.R. van Heemstra of the District Court of the Hague told JLR to return or destroy the seized material within 24 hours of a formal order being made. Failure to do so will see the manufacturer fined €50,000 (approximately $81,190) every hour, up to €500,000 ($811,900).

Judge van Heemstra found the seizure to be unnecessary and also rejected JLR’s claim that BYD owed it penalties amounting to €500,000 for failing to cooperate with the seizure in August. Instead, he ordered JRL to pay BYD damages of €25,376 ($41,204).

“The ruling lifts the evidence seizure but does not decide whether the SUV infringes JLR’s intellectual property rights,” wrote van Heemstra, who also barred JRL from further seizures under the authorisation that led to the material being taken in August.

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BYD told China’s Guancha news outlet that the company carries out its own in-house research and development, complies with intellectual property laws in every country and will continue to defend its rights and interests.

The Hague court will continue to hear the matter and decide whether BYD has a case to answer over the allegations, in which JRL accuses the brand of copying its Defender design and reverse-engineering some of its technology.

The judge’s ruling that the seized material be destroyed hinged on the fact that BYD does not sell the Ti7 in the European Union, meaning the alleged infringement cannot have caused JLR any damage.