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A Rolls-Royce spokesman has admitted the company may take legal action against Chinese car maker Geely over the similarities between its Geely GE model and the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

The 5.4-metre Geely GE prototype was unveiled at this week's Shanghai motor show, painted black and given pride of place on a raised plinth in the middle of Geely’s huge stand.

Read the Shanghai motor show report, and see pictures of a...Read the full article

Perhaps Rolls should do what Rover did with the 'City Rover'. Buy them in and stick their badge on it. It could be the (Bay) 'City Roller' (groan). Or then again, maybe they should sue the pants off them.

Sue the Chinese for making a car uglier than theirs- ? you couldnt make it up. Good luck on that one! LOL

I recall suggesting that Rolls could well be considering legal action when this car was featured at the Shanghai Motor Show last week.

The problem is that if they choose not to it could well create a dangerous precedent and result in a proliferation of copycat designs, the next Dacia/Kia/Tata may end up looking remarkably like the Bentley Continental GT

It would seem that Rolls have two options a) sit back, have laugh and just ignore it or b) try to teach the Chinese a lesson and sue them to hell and back. Personally I'd go for option b as I believe that just ignoring it will encourage them to think they can get away with it more and more. Putting pressure on them by stopping them copying others' designs may encourage their designers to really earn their money and come up with something original.

 Surely Geely would find a bigger market if they copied an F430 or 911.

ordinary bloke:

It would seem that Rolls have two options a) sit back, have laugh and just ignore it or b) try to teach the Chinese a lesson and sue them to hell and back. Personally I'd go for option b as I believe that just ignoring it will encourage them to think they can get away with it more and more. Putting pressure on them by stopping them copying others' designs may encourage their designers to really earn their money and come up with something original.

I think RR are urinating into the teeth of a gale with this threat. Geely aren't claiming their car is a Roller. The hideous grille might look superficially like the (equally hideous) Roller version), but upon closer inspection it's nowhere near the same.

Simplistic maybe, but surely all Geely would they'd need to do is claim they were inspired by many car designs (including RR) when designing this thing.

Geely may well claim that they were inspired by many car designs, but I'm pretty sure a court of law would side with Rolls. I mean, just look at the overall shape. Oh, and it looks like Geely was also inspired by the Phantom's LED interior roof lining...

Whatever happens the fact remains that this is the most obvious piece of fake jewellery ever.

ordinary bloke:

It would seem that Rolls have two options a) sit back, have laugh and just ignore it or b) try to teach the Chinese a lesson and sue them to hell and back. Personally I'd go for option b as I believe that just ignoring it will encourage them to think they can get away with it more and more.

 

I agree with this point. It's not about whether you like the original design or whether you think it's all a bit of a laugh. Ultimately, this is nothing less than theft. I have produced a great deal of intellectual property in my adult life and would like to think that I have some basic rights over that property. If this kind of cynical, behaviour (primarily from Chinese manufacturers) goes unchallenged for long enough then it will surely become commonplace.

When they produce container loads of fake watches or clothing or God knows what else, the producers of the original goods have a right of recourse. Why shouldn't a car manufacturer? Especially one with such a heritage.

Rolls Royce should chill out, they say a miss is as good as a mile and this has definitley missed. Plus it has the added advantage of making the original look handsome!

So come on Rolls at the risk of alienating the largest car market in the world, no one would honestly cancel an order with you for this mistaken project and i doubt it would sell outside of its home market anyway. So reputation intact.

It's good for Rolls Royce's publicity...