Indian auto company accuses Royal Enfield of stealing tech
An Indian auto parts company is suing motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield and its North American subsidiary in the US, alleging that Royal Enfield used a free sample to “reverse engineer” patent-protected technology.
Flash Electronics, based in New Delhi, manufactures electrical components for cars and motorcycles.
According to the complaint, filed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on Thursday, May 16, India-based Royal Enfield approached Flash in 2014 seeking to obtain a licence to the New Delhi company’s patent-protected regulator-rectifiers.
Regulator-rectifiers are motorcycle components which convert alternating current voltage into direct current to power the bike’s electrical systems.
During the negotiations, Flash gave Royal Enfield free samples of its products “in good faith” for testing purposes to aid with purchasing decisions, the complaint said.
But, after licence negotiations broke down, Royal Enfield manufactured regulator-rectifiers that are “identical in core respects to Flash’s design”, Flash claimed.
The New Delhi electronics company claimed that Royal Enfield “reverse-engineered” the samples provided by Flash in order to copy the patent-protected design. Royal Enfield’s product is also manufactured using the exact same assembly method as Flash’s, the suit claimed.
Flash is seeking enhanced damages for wilful infringement of its patent and has requested a reasonable royalty to compensate for the alleged infringement.
WIPR has contacted Flash Electronics and Royal Enfield’s parent company for comment.
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