Although cases of automotive cloning have cooled in recent years in China, the universe of Kamino’s children is still huge, especially small vehicles with a motorcycle engine or low-performance electric vehicles.
In any case, foreign manufacturers are keeping an eye on patents filed by Chinese companies that go beyond inspiration to get their hottest products on the local and even international automotive market.
A recent example is the MINI Austin patent filed by Beijing Estek Technology Co., Ltd., located in Beijing.
She registered the industrial designs for the MINI Austin as her own and a few days later, a new state registration declared: “all patent rights are invalid”.
The announcement was made by the State Intellectual Property Office of China, which revoked the rights registered by Beijing Estek Technology as an “electric vehicle”.
The Chinese government body responded to a request for the invalidation of rights by BMW AG, as the case became controversial in China, in the face of an illegal registration, since MINI’s rights are with BMW.
Due to the repercussions, the State Intellectual Property Office of China revised Beijing Estek’s application, considering them invalid, despite having validated them when they were first registered.
BMW’s recent battle is yet another victory for foreign manufacturers in China, which have seen it all in terms of automotive cloning.
If BMW had not filed for invalidation, Estek would certainly have put its “electric vehicle” on the market with shapes similar to those of the MINI Austin, the British classic, famous for its character Mr. bean.
MINI came out with the classic Mini from 1959 and became a brand, despite using brands like Austin and Morris.
In 1994, BMW bought Rover and with it the rights to the Mini, converting it into a brand from 2000.