His name is Zhan Baosheng, and he is known for filing a lawsuit on July 3 against the California-based electric car manufacturer. The essence of the claim is “Copyright infringement on a trademark.” The Chinese citizen demands that Tesla stop marketing activities in China, close its dealerships and service centers. In addition, the American automaker must pay him compensation in the amount of 23.9 million yuan (43.2 million UAH). Interestingly, for filing the lawsuit, Zhan Baosheng has already paid a fee of 161,500 yuan (303.4 thousand UAH).
According to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the PRC (SAIC), which is responsible for approving trademarks, Baosheng filed an application for the Tesla trademark in September 2006, three years after the automaker was founded, and the patent was issued only in June 2009 for a period of ten years.
Earlier, Tesla offered the cunning Chinese man to settle the matter out of court; Baosheng was offered $50,000. He refused the offer, and in May 2013 this amount increased to $322,500, but he also rejected the next offer.
“By selling its cars, Tesla violates my rights every day,” Baosheng told journalists. “I want Tesla to apologize.” Nevertheless, in addition to an apology, he also craves monetary compensation. The situation is interesting. One might ask: “Isn’t this a new form of racketeering?” But still, the matter has every legal basis to be considered in court.
