JCB has reached a settlement with an Asian backhoe loader manufacturer that the U.K.-based manufacturer had accused of product design infringement, JCB announced today.
Earlier this year, JCB alleged that the Asian manufacturer had copied the design of JCB’s 3CX backhoe loader. JCB has received an undisclosed settlement payment, and the manufacturer has agreed to fundamentally redesign its backhoe loader.
The settlement is the result of court actions that JCB pursued against three Asian manufacturers at the Bauma construction equipment trade show in Munich in April 2010. JCB’s suit alleged that the manufacturer had copied the designs of JCB’s backhoe loader and telehandler machines.
“This is the fourth incident this year of an Asian manufacturer copying one of our machines and taking unfair advantage of 57 years of product development,” said Tim Burnhope, JCB’s managing director for product development and commercial operations. “JCB is determined to act promptly and decisively in relation to such activities and stamp them out.”
JCB Inc. is based in England, with U.S. headquarters in Savannah, Ga.
