TVS may sue Bajaj Auto for defamation

TVS Motor Company will file a defamation case against "the wild and irresponsible allegation" made by Bajaj Auto Ltd, accusing the former for breaching Bajaj’s patent rights. TVS will file a suit against Bajaj for damages of Rs 250 crores.
TVS on Sunday said in a press statement that the accusation was a malicious attempt to tarnish the fair name of the corporate that belongs to the TVS group which has "consistently maintained the highest standards of ethics in business."
The Chennai-headquartered company said that "unless the malicious allegations are withdrawn and regrets expressed," by the second largest two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto, the company would file a suit for damages of Rs 250 crores. "This action does not preclude TVS Motor from initiating such other action as the law may permit including criminal action against officials of Bajaj Auto Ltd who used libellous language against TVS Motor," the statement said.
TVS Motor, the third largest two-wheeler manufacturers in the country, said: "The allegation of Bajaj Auto is ridiculous and can be established by their own admission that the invention in issue namely, the application of twins spark plug is a known technology extensively in use all over the world for several decades and therefore, in patent law, it is a known prior art."
"The patent that Bajaj claims, is not for the use of twin spark plug technology per se, but for the use of the two spark plug in a two-valve IC engine with a detachably fixed sleeve," the statement added.