US lawyer sues BMW over hybrid sports car
German car manufacturer BMW has been targeted in a patent infringement suit by a US-based law firm.
Theodore & Associates filed its lawsuit at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, yesterday, December 5.
The suit centres on Chris Theodore, CEO of the firm. Theodore, according to the suit, invested $700,000 dollars in developing a prototype universal chassis structure.
In 2015, the USPTO issued US patent number 9,045,163, which derived from a patent called “Universal chassis apparatus for automotive vehicles”. Theodore & Associates is the owner of the ‘163 patent.
From 2014 to May this year, Theodore & Associates sent letters to BMW saying that its i8 vehicle, a hybrid sports car, infringed claims of the ‘163 patent.
According to the suit, the law firm has made “good faith” negotiations with BMW for it to purchase a licence to the ‘163 patent for the BMW i8 vehicle.
BMW allegedly refused to engage in these negotiations.
The suit added that BMW had directly and wilfully infringed its ‘163 patent by selling the BMW i8 vehicle.
The cost to modify the BMW i8 vehicle to avoid infringement would total $10 million, the suit alleged.
Theodore & Associates is asking for a preliminary and permanent injunction against BMW, triple damages, costs, expenses and attorneys’ fees.
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