Can you patent a rectangle?
A Scottish electric vehicle start-up is facing a new obstacle to launching its debut off-roader after an American rival filed a lawsuit claiming the 4×4’s design was stolen.
Michigan-based Bollinger Motors claimed Munro Vehicles ripped off the boxy shape of its now-cancelled B1 SUV.
The case, filed in the Southern District of New York, alleges that the design of the electric Munro Mk_1 is so similar to the designs of the Bollinger B1 and B2 pick-up variant as to represent a trademark infringement.
The lawsuit goes on to suggest that Munro’s lead designer Ross Compton — who formerly worked as a designer with Bollinger — violated a Mutual Nondisclosure Agreement (MNA), essentially stealing trade secrets when he began working with Munro.
At the time of its unveiling last December, many automotive news outlets (including Driving.co.uk) pointed out the striking similarities between the Munro and the Bollinger B1, with some of those outlets — Motor1.com, the Detroit Bureau and Autoweek — cited by Bollinger in the case as evidence of the close likeness.
Bollinger accuses Munro of infringing on two of its patents, both of which cover “an original and unique vehicle design” and which “feature exposed hardware and hinges, extensive use of flat surfaces, aesthetic chamfered surfaces, flat and parallel body lines, and a distinctive wheel arch shape.”
The company also claims that Compton “without permission or authorization, retained Bollinger intellectual property and other materials… and disclosed such materials to Munro in violation of the Mutual Nondisclosure Agreement.”
Bollinger also accuses Compton of taking screenshots of CAD (Computer Aided Design) models and sharing them on social media “for the purposes of self-promotion,” and allegedly refusing to comply with a cease-and-desist order.
Bollinger B1 and Munro Mk_1 compared
In the opinion of Bollinger’s lawyers, the similarities between the Munro and Bollinger’s vehicles could cause confusion among the public and harm Bollinger’s brand.
Bollinger is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction to prevent Munro from, as it sees it, infringing on Bollinger’s trademark designs, and for Munro to immediately cease using direct and indirect knowledge of Bollinger’s designs for professional gain.
The company is also seeking a reimbursement of all fees related to the lawsuit, profits relating to the vehicle in question and a judgement of damages.
From Compton, the company is seeking financial damages related to the alleged breach of the MNA, as well as a preliminary and permanent injunction against him requiring him to abide by the agreement.
Despite the claimed similarities between the Bollinger B1 and the Munro Mk_1, legal precedent may not be on Bollinger’s side in the case.
As production of the old Land Rover Defender drew to a close in 2016, Jim Ratcliffe, the British billionaire and head of the Ineos chemical group, attempted to buy the tooling for the ageing off-roader with a view to continuing production.
When Land Rover refused, Ratcliffe decided to develop his own version. The resulting Ineos Grenadier is a rugged, angular 4×4 whose shape and overall look Land Rover believed owed more than a little to the Defender.
When Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) filed a copyright infringement case against Ineos, however, both the UK Intellectual Property Office and a judge ruled in 2020 that the shapes that Land Rover sought to have protected were not distinctive enough.
In court, former Ford design chief J Mays testified for JLR saying that certain aspects of the old Defender’s design replicated on the Grenadier such as its overhead “Alpine” windows, clamshell bonnet, off-set spare wheel and “arrow shot” rear windows were unique design features.
But the judge ruled that while the design differences may appear significant to some specialists, they “may be unimportant, or may not even register, with average consumers.”
Ineos, for its part, hired a former Volvo and Austin-Rover designer, Stephen Harper, who pointed out that the design of the old Defender was not unique and that it shared several elements with other well-known off-roaders such as the 1940s Willys Jeep and Mercedes G-Wagen.
The fact that the classic Defender was no longer in production also went in Ineos’ favour, with assembly of the Grenadier subsequently beginning in France in July 2022.
Visually, the Bollinger B1 and Munro Mk_1 share a lineage with the Land Rover Defender and just how distinct Bollinger’s minimalist, rectangular design is will surely be subject to protracted legal wrangling.
In January 2022, Bollinger announced that it was cancelling the B1 and B2 projects (neither of which had reached the production stage) in favour of developing an electric commercial vehicle platform.
Although a new party later last year took a 60% controlling stake in Bollinger, prompting some speculation that the B1 and B2 could be revived, for now both projects appear moribund — something that may, given the Ineos case, go in Munro’s favour.
Munro aims to begin production of the Mk_1 outside Glasgow later in 2023 and in doing so become the first volume car producer in Scotland since Peugeot-Talbot shuttered its Linwood plant in 1981.
With the company targeting its off-roader towards the construction and mining sectors rather than the luxury market, it proudly embraces the descriptor “agricultural”, something reflected in its rugged, simple design and underpinnings that the company claims make it especially capable off-road.
Munro eventually plans to expand into the US market, and while it initially aims to build 250 vehicles per year the long-term strategy involves upping that number to 2,500 per year and relocating to a larger factory elsewhere in Scotland.
- After reading about the legal dispute between Bollinger and Munro, you might be interested in Electrogenic’s electric conversion kit for the Land Rover Defender
- Read why Jeremy Clarkson labelled the Defender Hard Top “a bit pointless”
- And don’t miss Will Dron’s review of the current Land Rover Defender
Keyword: Scottish off-road EV start-up Munro in deep after Bollinger copycat lawsuit