FOLLOW UP: FOUR EX-AUDI EMPLOYEES CHARGED IN GERMANY
In Germany, three ex-Audi executives and a retired engineer have been charged over #dieselgate. Ulrich Hackenberg, Stefan Knirsch, Bernd Martens and Richard Bauder are accused of fraud, false certification and criminal advertising. To read more, click the Automotive News Europe article here.
FOLLOW UP: VW LOSES UK APPEAL AGAINST GROUP ACTION
Volkswagen has lost its appeal against the attempt of a group action lawsuit for compensation to those who bought a VW Group car with diesel engines fitted with, what the court has confirmed is, ‘defeat devices’. The case is not expected to start until 2022. To read more, click the Autocar article here.
FOLLOW UP: LEVANDOWSKI SENTENCED
Bringing to an end the messy chapter of Anthony Levandowski, stolen trade secrets and Uber trying to create autonomous taxis, Levandowski has been sentenced to prison for 12 months which he will serve once Covid-19 has receded. To read more, click the BBC News article here.
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR JULY 2020
In a rare and probably brief moment, there is good news from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders as July showed a double-digit increase in registrations on 2019. To read more click here for the SMMT article and charts.
JLR LOSE REGISTERED DESIGN CASE
In a lengthy legal process, starting with a case to cancel the registered design for the Defender, brought by INEOS against Jaguar Land Rover, finally culminating in JLR losing in the court of appeal a design patent for the Defender. The original decision was made on 21 November 2018, to read the original ruling, click the link here. To read more about the design patent matters, click the Autocar article here, but note there is confusion in the reporting on this between trademark and design patent. Thanks to Lee Walton for clarification on the case but also to Ed Callow who was mentioning this whilst no one else was over a year ago.
TESLA WIPER CONTROLS LAND DRIVER IN TROUBLE
A German driver was prosecuted under the nation’s same laws as using a phone behind the wheel when altering the speed of the wipers via the touch screen which resulted in a crash. Who knew putting controls on a screen that takes eyes from the road is dumb? To read more, click the BBC News article here.
TESLA IN TROUBLE OVER MISLEADING DESCRIPTIONS FOR AUTOPILOT
Another German court has ruled that Tesla must stop using misleading descriptions for its Autopilot software, such as “full potential for autonomous driving” and “Autopilot inclusive”. They have also been told off for their advert suggesting self-driving cars are allowed on German roads. To read more, click The Register article here.
UK’S FIRST DUTCH-STYLE ROUNDABOUT OPENS
Cambridge, where else, has installed the UK’s first Dutch-style roundabout...
