Thunderbird under Bajaj scanner

ne July 11, 2008, 0:34 IST

Enfield may have violated twin-spark tech patent.

Bajaj Auto (BAL) Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj today said that his company was studying whether Royal Enfield's Thunderbird Twinspark 350 cc bike has violated their patent on the twin-spark technology.

If Bajaj deems the Thunderbird a patent infringement, the company could go to court, he told shareholders at the company's AGM.

Siddhartha Lal, managing director of Chennai-based Enfield, said the new Thunderbird was not violating any patents as the technology was not exclusive and has been in use for decades.

He said his company had injected around Rs 25 crore to develop the engine for the new bike, work on which began in the 1990s. Twin-spark technology ensures complete combustion that results in better fuel efficiency and power.

Bajaj Auto had developed a twin-spark-plug bearing engine called DTSi (digital twin spark injection) indigenously. It was first used in the Pulsar range a few years ago and company later patented the technology.

The issue of Royal Enfield came up in response to a shareholder question on the status of a legal battle that began last year in the Madras High Court between Bajaj and TVS Motors over possible patent infringements in the Flame. Flame is a 125 cc bike that used twin-spark technology which the southern two-wheeler maker had launched last year.

"Various hearings have taken place so far over the patent infringement case. We expect a positive outcome from the case," Bajaj said. Earlier this year the court directed TVS Motors to stop production of Flame. TVS Motors later re-launched the bike with a single spark-plug technology.

The Flame represented an aggressive entry by TVS in the 125 cc segment, which is dominated by Bajaj Auto.