Courts in Paris and Milan have also slapped penalties on the French company in a patent infringement case filed by Italian two-wheeler maker Piaggio Group.
The patent in question relates to the control system that enables a three-wheeled vehicle to tilt sideways like a conventional motorcycle.
This technology is used in the Piaggio MP3 scooter as well as Peugeot Metropolis.
Gautam Sen, an auto industry expert based out of Paris, said the infringement case was a surprise for him.
“The Peugeot
has been in production since 2013 and sold over 20,000 units,” he told ET. “For Piaggio to challenge it now is a bit strange. Unless there is some new development, more than what meets the eye.”
Several other two-wheeler makers including Yamaha and a host of Chinese makes, too, are using this technology and they are not facing such patent infringement issues, Sen said.
“Peugeot is the vanguard for advanced technology in scooters and motorcycles and they don’t really need to copy,” he said.
The new version of the Metropolis came in 2020.
Piaggio in a statement said it won European patent infringement suits against Peugeot Motorcycles in Paris and Milan.
Mahindra declined to comment on the queries sent by ET.
Peugeot Motorcycles is expected to appeal against both the rulings, experts said.
The Paris court in its ruling slapped damages of ₹1.5 million on Peugeot Motorcycles for patent infringement in addition to further penalties for every counterfeit vehicle and legal expenses, according to Piaggio’s statement.
The ruling also prohibits Peugeot Motorcycles from producing, promoting, marketing, importing, exporting, using and/or possessing any three-wheeler scooter that uses the control system patented by Piaggio Group on French territory, it said.
The Milan court has prohibited Peugeot Motorcycles from importing, exporting, marketing and advertising (offline and online) the Peugeot Metropolis on Italian territory. A fine of ₹6,000 will be charged for every vehicle sold after a term of 30 days from the announcement of the sentence. Peugeot Motorcycles must also withdraw all counterfeit vehicles from sale in Italy within 90 days or pay additional fine of ₹10,000 for every day of delay in executing the order, Piaggio said.
Experts said that if Peugeot Motorcycles loses its appeals against the verdicts, it will have to re-engineer the Metropolis maxi-scooter.
