shutterstock_1140629366_vitaliy_karimov
4 October 2021Alex Baldwin

Tesla escalates EV trade secrets suit against Rivian

Tesla has accused rival Rivian Automotive of stealing next-generation battery technology and continuing to poach its employees in an ongoing trade secrets battle between the two electric automakers.

The suit, filed with the Superior Court of California in the state of Santa Clara in July 2020, accuses Rivian of misappropriating trade secrets by recruiting Tesla employees and “encouraging” them to take confidential information with them.

According to Bloomberg, Tesla said on Friday that little has changed since the suit was filed, accusing Rivian of continuing to poach its staff and IP.

Tesla cited a recent situation where an employee was “caught red-handed” stealing technology related to its new batteries, which it claims is “the most essential element for any electric vehicle”.

This news comes at a crucial time for Rivian, with the company filing its S-1 form for an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday.

Rivian, which hopes to be listed on the Nasdaq under the “RIVN” ticker, reported a net loss of more than $1 billion in 2020 in the SEC filing.

‘Competitive advantage’

Tesla claimed in its superior court suit that Rivian had hired 178 former Tesla employees, 70 of which joined Rivian directly and 13 of which were brought on as recruiters.

Two of the named defendants in the suit, former managers Tami Pascele and Jessica Siron, admitted to taking confidential information.

But when Tesla confronted Rivian associate general counsel Ash Zahr, he reportedly took a “cavalier attitude” toward the accusations and claimed that “taking confidential information was common in the industry”.

Rivian’s official stance, however, is to deny the allegations, stating that the company “requires all employees to confirm that they have not, and will not, introduce former employers’ IP into Rivian systems”.

Offboarding procedures

At a time where employees are working remotely and using their own equipment for work, trade secrets are less secure than ever before, and companies should be implementing proper offboarding procedures to keep their competitive edge and avoid litigation.

In a WIPR Patents Live session in Feburary, Hannah Netherton, partner at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang said: “Proper offboarding is essential. Companies need to focus on organisational culture and creating an environment where people are incentivised to innovate and protect those values and ensure they follow a proper offboarding procedure.”

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox

Today’s top stories

UKIPO appoints Harry Rich as new chair

Bradley appoints ex-FTC attorney to IP team

Mexico jurisdiction report: New provisions for trademarks

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Trademarks
10 February 2017   Adidas has opposed a trademark application filed by US automaker Tesla.
Patents
14 April 2022   A Delaware jury has ruled that an automobile tech supplier Aptiv’s aftermarket USB hub does not infringe on a patent owned by Microchip Technology.
article
22 August 2022   EV maker accuses former engineer of lying on CV | Secrets relate to AI supercomputer named ‘Dojo’.