Thursday, September 06, 2007

Indian Automobiles Players Tussle Over DTS-i Technology Patent

Digital Twin Spark Plug Ignition (DTS-i) Technology has made its way into first-major patent fight between two Indian automobiles (two-wheeler) major --- Bajaj Auto Ltd. and TVS Motors, with Bajaj alleging TVS of patent infringement over its DTS-i technology patent and threatening to initiate a legal action against TVS Motors if TVS schedule to launch its 125 CC Flame which uses a technology similar to Bajaj’s patented DTS-i technology. In its company statement, TVS contended that Flame is very different from any of the bikes that Bajaj makes and the patent does not hold for it. TVS’s Senior Vice President H.S. Goindy argued that “Bajaj has a patent for twin spark technology only for two valve engine. Flame for the first time in the country sports a three valve heart and is thus outside the purview of the patent.” He further added that “the technology is prepared by Austrian company AVL specifically for us and we are licensee to it.” Bajaj has to still wait for launch of Flame before zeroing down to file a lawsuit for patent infringement. On the other hand, TVS has filed a petition for revocation of Bajaj’s DTS-i technology patent contending that the patent is wrongly issued by the Indian Patent Office as it was already been patented in the US by Japanese Automobile major Honda Motor Co.

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