Jaguar Land Rover goes after replica community
Discussion
They sued a senior couple as well as their inactive company. This company had not been involved in the building of their ONE C-type replica for private use. They had plans to build two more cars and sell through the company, but it never came to that, since Jaguar ordered them to destroy their car and cease all other manufacturing. The ended up winning in court in december. To make this clear - they chose to sue the couple and not only the company so that the couple would have to sell their homes to pay for legal fees. If they only sued the company, they knew they would never get any money because the company is worth nothing.
I am happy to. I am the daughter of the couple building this C-type replica.
I am the one who has grown up with my father's passion for the brand seeping through our lives in so many ways - holidays spent with classic car communities, classic car meetings on warm summer nights, bringing hot tea to him in his garage on cold winter nights when he hour after hour, night after night, year after year carefully restored his rusty old jags. His interest transferred to me so I bought a Morris Minor to restore with him when I was 17. A car I recently had to sell to help mum and dad with their lawyer fees, even though we all know Moggies are not that valuable.
To build a C-type replica on his own was a dream that could only be possible after he retired and he spent years collecting data and doing research to even begin that project. And he was completely transparent to Jaguar Land Rover about this project. He approached two senior managers at Jaguar classic and he kept in contact with them for almost two years whilst building the car, before from nowhere they sued him for copyright infringement.
All of this you can read in the public documents - verdict, appeal and more.
I am the one who has grown up with my father's passion for the brand seeping through our lives in so many ways - holidays spent with classic car communities, classic car meetings on warm summer nights, bringing hot tea to him in his garage on cold winter nights when he hour after hour, night after night, year after year carefully restored his rusty old jags. His interest transferred to me so I bought a Morris Minor to restore with him when I was 17. A car I recently had to sell to help mum and dad with their lawyer fees, even though we all know Moggies are not that valuable.
To build a C-type replica on his own was a dream that could only be possible after he retired and he spent years collecting data and doing research to even begin that project. And he was completely transparent to Jaguar Land Rover about this project. He approached two senior managers at Jaguar classic and he kept in contact with them for almost two years whilst building the car, before from nowhere they sued him for copyright infringement.
All of this you can read in the public documents - verdict, appeal and more.
Earlier today a statement from Jaguar Land Rover was spread in public forums. The Magnusson family has put together the following comments in response to this. I might add that none of this is new information. Details of the interactions between the Magnussons and JLR are available in the court documents and annexes linked in our press release.
In their statement, Jaguar Land Rover are deliberately misrepresenting both the actual
circumstances of the case and their relationship with the replica community.
Firstly, Jaguar Land Rover has gone after not only the company Creare, but the private citizens Karl
and Ann-Christine Magnusson. Creare has never manufactured or sold a single C-Type replica. The
only C-Type replica built was paid for, built, and owned by Karl Magnusson privately from start to
finish, as public documentation from the Swedish registration process for amateur-built vehicles
reflects.
Karl Magnusson had an ambition to build another two replicas using the company Creare. These
plans were openly shared in a 2016 meeting at Jaguar Land Rover Classic HQ where Karl had been
invited to present his manufacturing data. Jaguar Land Rover had no objection to these plans - not
in the meeting, nor in the correspondence that followed. On the contrary, Karl felt encouraged.
When Jaguar Land Rover suddenly sent a warning letter in 2018, the privately-built C-Type replica
was essentially completed. Any future plans for the two additional cars were immediately
dropped.
Secondly, Jaguar Land Rover has approved of, and benefited from, the replica community for
decades, both from businesses and private citizens. There are more than 1 500 C-type replicas
existing today. It is only now when JLR is launching their own continuation line, that they have
started to pursue replica builders - some 70 years after the iconic design was created. The
interpretation of JLR’s statement is clearly that all commercially made C-Type replicas are from
now on illegal and risk destruction.
Thirdly, as is well known, there has been no interest in maintaining or retaining any IP rights for
the C-Type up until this recent shift in attitude. And while the Swedish lowest courts granted JLR
these rights, such rights have not yet gained legal status as the case has been appealed.
Jaguar enthusiasts worldwide are the ones who have been committed to the preservation and
heritage of the brand and the classic iconic designs since the 1970s. It is thanks to this community
that these icons are still desired. Jaguar Land Rover’s actions clearly show that their newly found
business ambitions are worth turning against their most loyal supporters. Two of them, the
Magnussons, now need to destroy their privately-built C-Type replica. The £450,000 in legal fees
have to be met by these two older Jaguar enthusiasts from private funds.
In their statement, Jaguar Land Rover are deliberately misrepresenting both the actual
circumstances of the case and their relationship with the replica community.
Firstly, Jaguar Land Rover has gone after not only the company Creare, but the private citizens Karl
and Ann-Christine Magnusson. Creare has never manufactured or sold a single C-Type replica. The
only C-Type replica built was paid for, built, and owned by Karl Magnusson privately from start to
finish, as public documentation from the Swedish registration process for amateur-built vehicles
reflects.
Karl Magnusson had an ambition to build another two replicas using the company Creare. These
plans were openly shared in a 2016 meeting at Jaguar Land Rover Classic HQ where Karl had been
invited to present his manufacturing data. Jaguar Land Rover had no objection to these plans - not
in the meeting, nor in the correspondence that followed. On the contrary, Karl felt encouraged.
When Jaguar Land Rover suddenly sent a warning letter in 2018, the privately-built C-Type replica
was essentially completed. Any future plans for the two additional cars were immediately
dropped.
Secondly, Jaguar Land Rover has approved of, and benefited from, the replica community for
decades, both from businesses and private citizens. There are more than 1 500 C-type replicas
existing today. It is only now when JLR is launching their own continuation line, that they have
started to pursue replica builders - some 70 years after the iconic design was created. The
interpretation of JLR’s statement is clearly that all commercially made C-Type replicas are from
now on illegal and risk destruction.
Thirdly, as is well known, there has been no interest in maintaining or retaining any IP rights for
the C-Type up until this recent shift in attitude. And while the Swedish lowest courts granted JLR
these rights, such rights have not yet gained legal status as the case has been appealed.
Jaguar enthusiasts worldwide are the ones who have been committed to the preservation and
heritage of the brand and the classic iconic designs since the 1970s. It is thanks to this community
that these icons are still desired. Jaguar Land Rover’s actions clearly show that their newly found
business ambitions are worth turning against their most loyal supporters. Two of them, the
Magnussons, now need to destroy their privately-built C-Type replica. The £450,000 in legal fees
have to be met by these two older Jaguar enthusiasts from private funds.
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