Dutch court orders JLR to destroy or return papers seized from BYD offices within 24 hours

British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has suffered a major setback in its legal battle with Chinese carmaker BYD. JLR alleges that BYD's Ti7 SUV copies the design of the Land Rover Defender. A court in the Netherlands has now issued important orders against JLR in the case.

The court said JLR must destroy or return, within 24 hours, the papers seized from BYD's offices in the Netherlands. The ruling was delivered by judge H.F.R. van Heemstra of the court in The Hague. The court said these seized papers are not needed to prove the claim that the Defender's design was copied.

If JLR fails to comply, it will have to pay a penalty of 50,000 euros for every hour. The penalty is capped at 500,000 euros.

The case began in August. Following a court order obtained by JLR, papers were seized from BYD's offices in Schiedam and Hoofddorp. They were reported to include launch plans for the Ti7 SUV, technical information and financial records.

The court said the files are not needed to prove that the design was copied. BYD has not yet begun selling the Ti7 in the European Union. According to the court, the papers are therefore not needed to calculate compensation for damages either.

BYD had opposed the seizure. The company argued that the action overstepped its jurisdiction and also collected research and development information that has no connection with the case. The court agreed that the request to collect papers was too broad. It also rejected JLR's application for a separate examination of BYD's internal files.

The ruling does not settle whether the Defender's design was copied. It also remains to be decided whether BYD's Ti7 SUV has infringed JLR's intellectual property rights. Separate legal proceedings related to the dispute are under way in Rotterdam and The Hague.

The court has also ordered JLR to pay BYD 25,367.57 euros in legal costs.