Design Infringement Claimed By Aston Martin

On 27 Friday 2015, Aston Martin filed suit against Galpin, in the Central District of California on the grounds that Galpin’s new prototype design for the Thunderbolt infringed their intellectual property rights. In particular, the claim is that the Thunderbolt draws on similar design features to the Aston Vanquish, such as the wings logo and side vents.

Interestingly, the Thunderbolt was designed by Henrik Fisker, a former Aston employee. During his tenure at Aston, Fisker participated in the design of the famous DB9 and Vantage (the predecessor to the Vanquish).

Aston Martin said, “Fisker’s bad faith intent to free-ride off the tremendous goodwill associated with the famous Aston Martin mark, wings logo, side vent mark, and Vanquish mark could not be more transparent.”

The Court will now determine whether the similarity between the two cars is permissible.

For details of this case see: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-30/aston-martin-empire-vodka-philips-intellectual-property