Twin spark technology not patentable: Eicher

Friday, 20 June 2008, 00:53 IST
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Chennai: Eicher Motors managing director and chief executive Siddhartha Lal says the twin-spark technology - the issue behind a court battle between Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor - is not a patentable know-how. Lal told mediapersons after launching the Thunderbird Twinspark 350cc bike here Wednesday that the technology has been available for several years. "We have been working on this engine since the 1990s. We don't expect any legal issues," he said. Eicher's Thunderbird, priced at 130,000, is powered by an engine that the company has developed on a spend of around 250 million. Bajaj Auto has taken took TVS Motors to court, charging it with infringing on its patent for digital twin spark ignition. TVS Motor had launched a new model 125cc Flame with variable timing ignition technology. Bajaj says TVS Motor has used the digital twin-spark ignition technology, for which it holds the Indian patent. TVS Motor has since then withdrawn the model, and in turn, has filed a defamation case against Bajaj.
Source: IANS