Leave it to lawyers to ruin a good thing. Eggheads at Fiat Chrysler have filed a complaint about Mahindra’s ROXOR off-roader.

On August 1^st, attorneys at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles filed a U.S. trade complaint seeking to prevent Indian automaker Mahindra from importing an off-road vehicle that looks like its iconic Jeep. The word ‘importing’ catches your author’s attention, as Mahindra plans to assemble the ROXOR right here in the good old U.S. of A … using knock-down kits from abroad. There’s the “import” part of the equation, then.

FCA claims the ROXOR infringes key characteristics of Jeep’s signature trade dress, namely its “boxy body shape with flat-appearing vertical sides and rear body ending at about the same height as the hood.”

“They are a nearly identical copy of the iconic Jeep design,” Fiat Chrysler said in its complaint, which included photos comparing the ROXOR to the Jeep. “In fact, the accused product was ‘modeled after the original Willys Jeep.’”

It’s worth pointing out to the nerds at FCA, in case they missed it in their rush to the courthouse, that the ROXOR is an off-road only vehicle and is limited to such environs. If a customer is considering laying out $15,000 on a ROXOR, they’re likely cross-shopping side-by-sides from Polaris or Can-Am, not a road-legal Wrangler at twice the price.

Your author is far from a legal expert but, by all accounts, Mahindra has had a license to build machines closely resembling the original Jeep since 1947. Apparently, they have had agreements with all of Jeep’s parents over the years, from Willys and Kaiser at the beginning all the way up to today’s company structure.

FCA killjoys have also said ROXOR imports threaten it with substantial injury as the Indian company are underselling Jeeps. Again, we will take this opportunity to explain to them that the ROXOR is not a direct competitor to the Wrangler. Mahindra apparently agreed back in 2009 not to use the well-known seven slot grille, explaining the ROXOR’s “four-and-a-half” slot grille.

Behind all this is, of course, money. The Jeep brand is keeping the lights on at FCA and is single-handedly responsible for its net-positive position in terms of vehicles sold so far this year. The brand has moved about 100,000 machines more to the end of July 2017 than it did one year ago. The entire company? Up about 57,000 units.

If you’re interested in reading specifics, the case is officially known as In the Matter of Certain Motorized Vehicles and Components Thereof, Complaint No. 3330, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington).

Perhaps Shakespeare’s line about lawyers wasn’t misinterpreted after all.