Just hours after releasing its new Dogma F10, Pinarello has been threatened with legal action over the design of the bike's down tube.
Victor Major, CEO of Taiwanese brand Velocite, claims that his company has several patents relating to a "concave down tube" design that shields the rider's water bottles from airflow, similar to the one on the Dogma F10.
In the letter, Major claims that Pinarello "used [the design] not only on the Bolide TT frame, but also on the just released Dogma F10 frame", with Velocite holding patents for frames with a similar down tube shape in China and Taiwan.
The design has been used in the Velocite Syn road bike, which was released in 2015.
Major claims that he first contacted Pinarello about his concerns in July 2016 following the release of the Bolide, and despite Pinarello acknowledging receipt of his letter, has never received response.
The down tube of the Pinarello Dogma F10 (left) compared with the Velocite Syn
"I find this personally upsetting, both because this is my personal work that you decided to claim for your own and because we could never establish any meaningful dialogue with you regarding fair, or compensated use of our intellectual property," Major wrote.
"I could understand that perhaps you used our intellectual property by accident when you made the new Bolide TT. However, with the new Dogma F10 your use of our intellectual property is deliberate.
"You know it belongs to us. You were notified. You chose not to engage with us. What do you expect should happen next?"
In its white paper on the new F10, Pinarello claims that the down tube design helps to reduce drag by 12.6 per cent.
In response to Major's letter, Pinarello said that it had not received "essential information" of Velocite's grievances, and said that it "will not tolerate and will take appropriate actions against any unsupported allegation, explicit or implicit, of being an infringer or a ‘thief’."
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Henry Robertshaw began his time at Cycling Weekly working with the tech team, writing reviews, buying guides and appearing in videos advising on how to dress for the seasons. He later moved over to the news team, where his work focused on the professional peloton as well as legislation and provision for cycling. He's since moved his career in a new direction, with a role at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
