The Noble, built by Shuanghuan Automobile, was due to feature at last week's Bologna auto show but the car was pulled after Daimler won a temporary order from an Italian court which banned Shuanghuan showing the new model.

A similar order was obtained by the company in Germany to prevent Shuanghuan's German distributor from showing the Noble at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

In a further legal twist, Martin Motors, the Chinese manufacturer's European distributor, has said it plans to sell the Noble as the Bubble in Europe, avoiding a potential legal dispute with UK sports carmaker Noble Automotive.

Should the Daimler dispute be resolved, Martin Motors will start selling the Bubble in Italy and Romania, with future plans of expanding into other European markets.

Martin Motors has said the Bubble would not be confused with the ForTwo, as the car is a four-seat, front-engined vehicle, while the Smart model is a two-seat car with a rear engine.

The distributor claimed that Daimler took no legal action when the Bubble was shown at the Bucharest auto show in Romania.

The latest legal wrangle is not the first copyright issue that Smart has had to face.

In November 2006, the then DaimlerChrysler company threatened to sue Chinese firm Shandong HuoYun Electromobile if it continued production of an electric car which the German company said resembled the Smart ForTwo.