Truck Maker MAN Sues Chinese Bus Maker Over Copyright Infringement

Oct. 20, 2006

Accuses company of copying its design.

German truck maker MAN has filed suit in China against bus maker Zonda for allegedly copying the design of its luxury bus Starliner, the deputy chief of MAN's Truck and Bus activities in China said in an interview on Oct. 20.

"We want Zonda to stop producing its A9 model with immediate effect," Franz Neudlinger told the Financial Times Deutschland. While MAN's Starliner costs around 350,000 euros (US$437,000), Zonda sells its copy around one third of the price.

In filing the suit, MAN is following an increasing trend of foreign companies who are taking cases of copyright infringement to the Chinese courts. Pfizer recently secured its patent in China for Viagra and Starbucks also won a case against a Chinese rival that had copied its logo.

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