Honda Motor Co. of Japan recently filed a lawsuit with the Delhi High Court accusing India’s Hero Electric of copyright infringement with respect to one of its scooter designs. The application that was filed on May 22, 2020, seeks an ad interim injunction on the manufacturing, sales or advertising of the Hero Dash electric scooter sold by the Indian company. The lawsuit has been made with regard to the Honda Moove scooter that was sold in several South-East Asian markets, the model design Hero Electric has allegedly infringed with the Dash e-scooter.
According to the application filed, Honda has stated that the Hero Dash electric scooter violates the copyright laws, particularly the front and rear lamps, as well as the rear cover design that’s already been registered by the Japanese company. The Honda Moove was launched as early as December 24, 2014, and was on sale until 2017, much before the Hero Dash was introduced in the Indian market.
The first hearing of the case was held virtually on May 29, 2020, and it was concluded that Hero Electric would be given time until June 2, 2020, to submit a response to the court. The second hearing, however, was postponed and will now be held on June 11, 2020. We will have to wait and see what will be Hero Electric’s response to the allegations.
Headed by Naveen Munjal, part of the Munjal family, Hero Electric is an electric two-wheeler manufacturer, independent from Hero MotoCorp. The company has been known to source components including body shell and electric powertrain from outside sources, particularly from China. This is for the first time, however, that a major auto manufacturer has sued the company for its design.
The Hero Dash electric scooter was launched in 2019 at a price of Rs. 62,000 (ex-showroom, India) and is powered by a 48-volt, 28 Ampere lithium-ion battery with a range of 60 km on a single charge. The battery can be fully charged in four hours and has a top speed of 25 kmph. The now-discontinued Honda Moove was a step-thru style scooter that was offered with a 110cc and 125cc engine options.
