Motorola cuts off Razr copycat

Motorola has won a court case against a Korean handset manufacturer whose devices bore a little too striking a resemblance to the iconic Razr.

KBT, which sold the Razr-alikes in Asia, has agreed to stop manufacturing the devices after Motorola filed a lawsuit against the company alleging infringement of trademarks, designs and patents.

According to Motorola, the handset manufacturer was first alerted to the copycat devices when they received enquiries about Razr-esque phones known as the V500s. KBT can now no longer sell, manufacture or help any company to make the look-alike devices.

The Razr has proved the star of Motorola's handset line, selling more than 12 million devices since its launch, and has helped to increase the company's market share in Europe and the US.

Since the Razr debuted in 2004, Motorola has made skinny phones the norm across its line, most notably the Q - a stick-thin smart phone that is predicted to be launching later this month.

As well as inspiring Motorola's design team, the Razr has also encouraged other handset makers to put their devices on a diet. The slimmest handset on the market, the Samsung X820, is just 6.9mm thick.