Clash over spark plugs!

The controversy has arisen owing to the release of Flame, a 125 cc Bike of TVS motors which is based on the Controlled Combustion Variable Timing intelligent technology (“CC-VTi”) engine. Bajaj Auto is of the opinion that upon comparison of the aforesaid two technologies the usage, size and purpose happen to be the same. Having regard to these findings, in the first week of September, Bajaj Auto had expressed its intention to sue TVS Motors for infringing its patent rights over spark plug based on DTSi technology.

TVS Motors, however, seems to be unperturbed by such a threat of infringement. The competitor to Bajaj Auto claims that its spark plug which is based on CC-VTi technology was a result of sustained investments of the company into Research & Development which has been developed in collaboration with AVL an Austrian company. Besides, one must also note that TVS Motors has filed a revocation petition challenging the grant of patent to Bajaj for its DTSi technology before the Patent Office in Chennai.

Further, in its press release TVS Motors has also observed “that the allegation of Bajaj Auto is ridiculous….the application of twin spark plug is a known technology in use all over the world for several decades and therefore, in patent law, it is a known prior art.” In that, according to TVS Motors, the DTSi technology over which Bajaj has obtained patent has already been patented in the United States of America by Japanese Automobile major Honda Motor Co.

On the one hand it is pertinent to note that Bajaj Auto’s patent claim over DTSi technology was held valid and infringed in Sri Lanka against a Chinese manufacturer which introduced its version of Bajaj Pulsar with a Sri Lankan Distributor. On the other, it is equally important to examine the scope of Section 106 of the Indian Patents Act which treats the threat of infringement as an actionable wrong if people make groundless threats against others.

Having regard to the framework of the Patents Act; the nature of the stakes involved in this dispute and also recognizing the potential opportunities that are available in the 125 CC bikes market some of the most obvious issues and questions that needs to be considered are: Whether one can treat the threat of infringement by Bajaj Auto as part of its business tactics and hence consider it as groundless? One can also look at whether TVS Motors is actually aggrieved by the threats issued by Bajaj and if so can it sustain a successful claim under section 106 of the Patents Act?

For the moment, both the parties have been issuing politically correct statements. In that Bajaj is waiting for the official launch of TVS’s Flame before it intends to take any kind of legal actions. TVS Motors is exploring different options that are available to it under the Patents Act for the threat of infringement issued by Bajaj Auto. Therefore, it is to be seen how actually both the parties evolve strategies to pursue or find alternatives to resolve the tussle.