Bajaj Auto Ltd plans to sue south Indian rival TVS Motor Co for 'infringing' upon intellectual property rights of its patented digital twin spark ignition (DTSi) technology.
Bajaj Auto's move to sue TVS comes two days after the Chennai-based company announced plans to roll out its latest 125 cc bike 'Flame' with Controlled Combustion Variable Timing Intelligent (CC-VTi) technology.
"This is a case of IPR infringement issue. Prima facie we have a strong case. While we have had Chinese companies infringing our patented technology, this is the first time a fellow Indian company is doing it to us," Bajaj Auto Ltd CEO (Two-Wheelers) S Sridhar told PTI.
He said the company was convinced that there was a clear case of IPR violation by TVS on three counts and the company's legal department was preparing to go to court at
the earliest.
"The first is the purpose for which they are doing it (use of twin spark ignition for enhanced performance and better mileage). Secondly, the size (of engine) is same and third, construction of engine is also the same," Sridhar added.
TVS officials were not immediately available for comments.
BAL's some of the most popular models 'Pulsar' and 'Discover' are powered by DTSi engines and Sridhar said the company holds the global and Indian patent for the technology for small engines.
TVS had claimed that its 'Flame' is powered by an engine with CC-VTi technology, which features two different intake ports called swirl port and power port.
TVS CMD Venu Srinivasan had said that the company planned to sell about 30,000 to 35,000 per month after the model's proposed market launch by November.