February 2018 – Duane Morris Green IP

February 27, 2018 by Justus Getty

TESCO Moves Confidentiality Case to Pennsylvania

To hear a lawsuit between parties, a court must have personal jurisdiction over a defendant. Personal jurisdiction requires “minimum contacts” between a defendant and a state such that the defendant “should reasonably anticipate being haled into court there.”
Electric meter company TESCO used a lack of minimum contacts with the state of Tennessee to have litigation with plaintiff Technology for Energy Corporation moved to a more convenient court in Pennsylvania.

One of the first questions a defendant often asks when they’ve been sued is this: can I get the case moved to a more favorable court? Each court may have different administrative rules, different law to be applied in the case, and judges with different backgrounds. In these differences, litigants and their counsel often seek to find an advantage by trying to move cases among the various courts. Continue reading “TESCO Moves Confidentiality Case to Pennsylvania”

February 14, 2018 by Justus Getty

Three Lessons from the Conviction of Sinovel Wind Group for Trade Secret Theft

Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Sinovel Wind Group Co. Ltd. was convicted last month of stealing software from AMSC Inc., a U.S.-based company formerly known as American Superconductor Inc. The theft nearly destroyed the American company, which lost substantial service contracts after the theft and began to shed market capitalization, jobs, and facilities as a result. With the conviction, Sinovel now awaits sentencing, scheduled for June 2018, which could include more than $1 billion in fines and a multi-year probationary period. Continue reading “Three Lessons from the Conviction of Sinovel Wind Group for Trade Secret Theft”

February 6, 2018February 6, 2018 by Justus Getty

EV Charging Company to Rival: Your Patents Aren’t Valid

In a battle over EV charging station technology, a patent defendant has argued that the plaintiff’s technology is ineligible for patent protection and that the entire case should be dismissed from federal court.

Electric vehicle (EV) charging station provider SemaConnect, Inc., has requested that a patent lawsuit be dismissed because the asserted patents are invalid. The patents are owned by rival ChargePoint, Inc., an EV charging company that appears to have brought the lawsuit against SemaConnect after being shut out of a major installation contract. The contract was offered by Electrify America, the VW subsidiary that has pledged to spend $2 billion on EV infrastructure. You can find our earlier post on this case here. Continue reading “EV Charging Company to Rival: Your Patents Aren’t Valid”