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China Lawsuit Seeks to Block Tesla Operations

A trademark lawsuit in China demands that Tesla Motors Inc. halt all operations in the country and pay 23.9 million yuan ($3.9 million) in compensation, Bloomberg News reports.
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A trademark lawsuit in China demands that Tesla Motors Inc. halt all operations in the country and pay 23.9 million yuan ($3.9 million) in compensation, Bloomberg News reports.

The lawsuit was filed late last week by Zhan Baoesheng, who registered the Tesla name in 2006. That was three years after Tesla Motors was founded in California but seven years before the company began marketing its electric cars in China.

Zhan, a 36-year-old businessman, also registered a trademark very similar to Tesla Motors' trademark in 2006. But last year Chinese regulators agreed that Zhan's trademarks were invalid and revoked them. He is appealing that ruling.

Tesla tells Bloomberg it considers Zhan a thief who has stolen its trademarks. The company points out that so far it has prevailed with in rulings by various Chinese authorities.

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