Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD won a favourable ruling in a sports utility vehicle design dispute with Britain's Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). A Dutch court cancelled JLR's evidence seizure and ordered the destruction of the materials obtained, drawing attention to the companies' intellectual property fight.

Electrek reported on Nov. 12 that the District Court of The Hague ruled a day earlier that JLR must destroy materials it obtained from BYD's Netherlands office.

The dispute emerged after BYD began UK pre-orders in July for the Ti7, a seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV aimed at the European market.

JLR argued that the Ti7's boxy body and exterior design copied its Land Rover Defender SUV. Allegations were also raised that BYD dismantled a Defender and reverse-engineered some technology. JLR obtained court approval in August and seized digital records, including launch plans and technical materials, from two BYD offices in the Netherlands.

The court found the materials were not necessary to prove JLR's claim of rights infringement or its damages request. It cited that the Ti7 is not yet sold in the European Union, making it difficult to view related damage as having occurred.

The court ordered JLR to instruct the destruction of the seized materials within 24 hours of service of the ruling. If it fails to comply, it faces an enforcement fine of 50,000 euros per hour, up to a maximum of 500,000 euros.

Within 24 hours after the destruction, JLR must also submit a third-party confirmation letter to BYD. The court also rejected JLR's request to enforce a 500,000-euro enforcement fine against BYD.

The ruling addressed the legality of the evidence seizure and did not determine whether the Ti7 design infringed the Defender's intellectual property rights. JLR is pursuing separate infringement lawsuits in The Hague and Rotterdam.

The Ti7's UK selling price starts from 47,995 pounds. That is cheaper than the starting price of 71,840 pounds for the plug-in hybrid Defender 110. BYD applied a hybrid system combining a 1.5-litre turbo engine and an electric motor, and plans to begin deliveries to UK customers in January of the following year.

With the legal dispute continuing, attention is focused on how it will affect the Ti7's entry into the European market.