Jeep’s years-long fight to stop Indian firm Mahindra from selling the Roxor in the United States due to trademark infringement experienced a setback. The brand can continue selling the redesigned version of its open-top side-by-side, the Eastern District Court of Michigan decided.
The bitter legal battle opposing the two carmakers began in the late 2010s, when Jeep — which was part of Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles at the time — claimed the Roxor looked too much like the CJ. In 2019, the United States International Trade Commission found Mahindra guilty of trademark infringement and recommended the implementation of a cease-and-desist order. Mahindra redesigned the Roxor with a less CJ-like grille in 2020, but the United States International Trade Commission ruled in Jeep’s favor in June 2020. The ruling only applied to the pre-facelift model, however, and a U.S. regulator later decided that the updated off-roader didn’t infringe on Jeep’s intellectual property.
Jeep appealed the decision in September 2022 and the verdict announced in July 2023 wasn’t in its favor, according to Automotive News.
Mahindra made several changes to the Roxor to win the case. Most of the updates were found up front, where the off-roader received a shorter, wider grille and narrower fenders. The body remains Jeep-like, but the main styling cues linking the Roxor and the CJ models built for decades are relatively generic, such as flat side panels. Arguably, the second-generation Thar sold in India is far more Wrangler-like.
Jeep hasn’t commented on the court’s decision, so we don’t know if Mahindra won the war or a battle.
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