US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard arguments from General Electric Company that Japanese rival Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) infringed on their patents. Lawsuits between the two companies have raged since 2008.
GE complained to the International Trade Commission (ITC) in 2008 that MHI had violated three of their wind turbine technology patents. One patent has since expired. ITC found that MHI did not infringe on GE’s patents, but it left the door open for further action.
And action it has seen. The two-year dispute claims patent infringement on both sides and monopolistic behavior on the part of GE.
GE filed suit in Texas. Lawmakers from states where GE held factories and administrative offices, New York and some southern states, wrote the ITC to warn of US job losses if GE lost the court battle. An ITC Administrative Law Judge previously said that MHI did violate two of the patents.
GE spokesman Dan Nelson released a statement the day the US Court of Appeals heard the case, “Today’s hearing is about one issue – the protection of GE’s intellectual property… Strong intellectual property rights promote investment, foster innovation and encourage commercial deployment of technology.”
MHI claims GE has scared off their customers and driven away other foreign competitors. MHI filed suit in Florida accusing GE of patent infringement, just part of a long series of claims and counterclaims.
MHI says they had $2 billion in sales of variable speed wind turbines before GE filed suit and has not sold one in the US since. Matt Kaplan of Emerging Energy Research said buyers are afraid of legal problems from GE if they buy from MHI, reports Joel Kirkland of ClimateWire.