Jaguar sues a bloke who build a replica - and wins!

[Normb666]

That statement by JLR still doesn't answer all the questions though. JLR management actively helped some of the "replica" companies by supplying factory drawings etc. and even used replicas in some of their promotional material and at events, I've read. But now they turn on these same people, citing "intellectual property"? And it's not just Creare, but also Suffolk Sportscars who they've leaned on. All this "ensuring enthusiasts can enjoy our vehicles long into the future" is cobblers, as it's the enthusiasts they're hitting! What they should really be saying is that they're ensuring that only the moneyed elite can enjoy their vehicles, because no-one else can afford them. Going after replica manufacturers means the regular enthusiasts won't be able to have a "new" car, unless JLR believe all enthusiasts can simply knock up a D-Type in their garage?
Do they really think Creare or Suffolk were rivals compared to their own continuation cars? Even at £250K they're about 6 or 7 times cheaper than Jaguar's will be....and actually, where does this leave a firm such as Lynx, or Proteus, who produce some of the best replicas and which are renowned and respected within the classic community for such?
If the court thinks an old car can be compared to a painting or statue, then replicas must be OK, as there are countless copies of the Mona Lisa and that oriental woman with the blue face you always used to see So it must all be about "passing off" as a real car? ...or is that just me applying logic....
Oh, and what about free market forces? If there's a demand for an old car, and the original maker stopped doing it yonks back, surely all a replica maker is doing is satisfying that demand and giving the public what they want? If the original manufacturer wants a piece of the action, all they have to do is inspect the replica to make sure it's good enough and then take a royalty payment. In that way everyone's even happier - replica company knows they're OK, original firm is happy they're not being brought into disrepute by a substandard product, buyer's chuffed cos the car's got a degree of authenticity. Just so long as it's not actually called a Jaguar C-Type or whatever. But that's probaly too sensible and grown-up when you can throw your toys outta the pram and make a lot of noise about "intellectual property" that you'd actually abandoned 60-odd years ago....