Dispute between Fiat and Great Wall still not concluded

The Chinese domestic car market may be growing as automakers produce increasingly sophisticated designs, but so far attempts to export vehicles in earnest have run into setbacks. Besides safety problems, one issue has been that some Chinese models bear a striking resemblance to cars already on the market, upsetting the automakers that designed them.

Recently BMW succeeded in banning the Shuanghuan S-CEO SUV, which looks suspiciously like an X5, from German shores, and now Fiat is locked in a dispute with Great Wall Motor over an imitation of its Panda people-mover. However while an Italian judge recently ruled in Fiat's favor, now its Chinese counterpart has reached a verdict in the same case, throwing the Italian automaker out of court.

In a dispute over selling the Great Wall Peri, a high-roof five-door people mover resembling the Panda, in Europe, Fiat sued the Chinese automaker for copyright infringement. An Italian court in the Fiat's hometown of Turin ruled against Great Wall, agreeing the GWPeri was a Panda knockoff and banning sales of the vehicle throughout Europe.

In reaction to the ruling, at the time Great Wall's deputy general manager Bai Xuefei said the company would consider "whether to bring up an objection" and be "open to all the possibilities," including an appeal.

However as it turns out the Chinese company only had to wait a few days for some better news -- in addition to the Italian case, last June Fiat also sued Great Wall for patent infringement in China, and in a reversal now the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court has ruled against the automaker, saying the GWPeri is significantly different from the Panda and ordering Fiat to pay court fees totaling $1291.

And now Fiat is saying it is "evaluating a number of options on how to proceed," while considering an objection. The company has 30 days to decide whether it wants to appeal in Chinese court.

Interestingly, despite the Turin court's threat to fine Great Wall 15,000 Euros if it tries to sell the GWPeri in Europe, the Chinese automaker claims this won't have much impact on its operations. With a recent ruling in its favor, Great Wall is now preparing an appeal in Italy, meaning that both Europe and China may wind up revisiting the same case at roughly the same time.

If Great Wall is successful, this could open the door for other banned automakers to reenter European markets. Regardless of how the Fiat - Great Wall dispute is resolved, however, as long as some Chinese companies continue turning out deja vu-inducing designs, the legal wrangling is likely to continue.