Auto dispute

German bus and coach manufacturer Neoplan Bus GmbH recently won an intellectual property lawsuit against a Chinese auto firm.

The Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court ordered automotive group Zonda and its subsidiary Yancheng Zhongwei Passenger Coach Co Ltd and Beijing Zhongtong Xinhua Automobile Sales Company to pay 21 million yuan to Neoplan Bus GmbH.

The German firm filed the lawsuit in 2006, accusing Zonda of copying Neoplan's "Starliner" coach to make its "A9" model.

The court ordered Zonda to stop manufacturing the pirated model and prohibited its sale.

"Zonda could not provide enough evidence to prove that the Zonda A9 was a result of its own research," according to a press release.

Neoplan applied for a patent for its Starliner coach in China in 2004, the company said.

(Source: China Daily)

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