Piaggio Wins Patent Infringement Case Against Mahindra-Owned Peugeot Motorcycles

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Peugeot Motorcycles has allegedly deployed Piaggio MP3’s ’tilting’ control system technology on its Metropolis three-wheeled scooter sold in select European markets

Mahindra-owned Peugeot Motorcycles has been asked to stop selling the Metropolis three-wheeled scooter in France and Italy. The company has also been handed over a hefty fine of €1.5 million by a court in France, in addition to further penalties for infringement and legal expenses.

Both the Tribunal Judiciaire of Paris and the Court of Milan found Peugeot Motorcycles guilty of infringing a European patent of the Piaggio MP3 three-wheeled scooter’s technology with its Peugeot Metropolis. The legal battle involves the control system which enables a three-wheeled scooter to tilt like a conventional two-wheeler.

The patent for this technology is owned by Piaggio Group, and is used on the aforementioned MP3 scooter. The ruling of the Paris court also prohibits Peugeot Motorcycles from producing, promoting, marketing, importing, exporting, using and/or possessing any three-wheel scooter in France that uses the control system patented by the Piaggio Group.

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On the other hand, the court of Milan has prohibited Peugeot Motorcycles from importing, exporting, marketing and advertising (offline and online) the Peugeot Metropolis to Italy, with a fine of €6,000 established for every vehicle sold after 30 days from the announcement of the sentence.

Also, Peugeot Motorcycles has to withdraw all counterfeit vehicles from sale in Italy within 90 days, otherwise incur a penalty of an additional fine of €10,000 for every day of delay in executing the order. Piaggio Group has been involved in launching legal action against a host of manufacturers prior to this, mostly of Chinese origin.

While Peugeot Motorcycles can appeal against both these court rulings, it is yet unknown how the Mahindra-owned two-wheeler manufacturer will pan it out. The Metropolis is currently listed for sale on Peugeot Motorcycles’ French website, with a base asking price of €9,199, going all the way up to €10,499 for the top-end trim.

On the other hand, the Piaggio MP3 is available in France with three engine options – 300 cc, 400 cc and 500 cc, with prices starting from €6,699, €8,999 and €10,999 for the Euro 5 models respectively.