...blaming the discrepancy on a translation from “Britlish” to American English. “It’s a mistake,” Guinn says.

Design Disputes

ENR was not able to confirm the names of the companies allegedly violating JCB’s designs. However, two well-placed industry sources, who asked not to be revealed for business reasons, confirm that one company JCB has been targeting for legal action is Guangxi, China-based LiuGong Machinery Co. Ltd., a producer that advertises backhoe- loaders for sale on its Chinese and North American websites as well as on Internet trading posts, such as Alibaba.com.

In its dealings with LiuGong, JCB is playing offense and defense. On March 26, LiuGong’s subsidiary in India, LiuGong India Pvt. Ltd., filed an application with India’s patent office in New Delhi to revoke five backhoe designs registered to JCB India Ltd.

In India, companies can register an industrial design, defined as a “shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours,” that is treated separately from patents and trademarks.

Under the same law, any company also can challenge a registered design but must furnish proof that it is not new or original or that it violates other eligibility criteria.

In the case of LiuGong, public records show it is asking the Indian government to cancel JCB’s designs involving the appearance of control levers, stabilizer legs, dippers, booms and loader arms related to backhoe-loaders.

A LiuGong brochure downloaded from the Internet details its model 766III backhoe-loader, which is rated at 93 horsepower. Similarly, JCB’s 3CX is rated at a maximum 92 horsepower. JCB declined to comment on the LiuGong machine, and a LiuGong representative in the U.S. did not return ENR’s phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

LiuGong, which operates in the U.S. under Katy, Texas-based LiuGong Construction Machinery N.A. LLC, claims to be the “leading global China-based heavy construction equipment manufacturer,” with $151 million in profits on $1.49 billion in sales last year.

It also claims to be the first Chinese construction equipment company to open a plant outside of China. In July 2009, LiuGong cut the ribbon on a $30-million factory in Pritampur, India.

Likewise, LiuGong is aggressively moving into the U.S. market. In the June 2009 issue of Construction Equipment Distribution, the magazine of the trade group Associated Equipment Distributors, Oak Brook, Ill., a domestic equipment buyer referred to a LiuGong machine as a “Chinese Caterpillar.”