Commercial arbitration between AMSC (American Superconductor Corporation) and Sinovel Wind Group Co., Ltd will begin on Monday, January 9. This hearing with the Beijing Arbitration Commission is the first in a series of cases, which includes the biggest intellectual property claim ever made in Chinese courts.
AMSC has filed civil lawsuits and an arbitration case in the Chinese courts valued at more than US$1.2 billion. These cases stem from Sinovel’s contractual breaches in March 2011 and AMSC’s discovery of intellectual property theft in June 2011.
Background
Dejan Karabasevic, a former AMSC employee, has already been imprisoned in Austria for intellectual property theft. Karabasevic has admitted to colluding with Sinovel to steal important intellectual property related to AMSC’s wind turbine control systems.
The Cases
The following four cases (3 civil suits and 1 arbitration case) are now in motion in Beijing and Hainan:
1. In a case with the Beijing Arbitration Commission, AMSC is seeking US$70 million for past product shipments and is seeking enforcement of its contracts with Sinovel, which are valued at approximately US$700 million. The Beijing Arbitration Commission has set its first hearing for January 9, 2012.
2. AMSC is seeking approximately US$450 million in a trade secret case that was accepted by the Beijing Higher Court on November 9, 2012. This is the largest intellectual property case ever undertaken in China.
3. AMSC has filed a copyright infringement case against Sinovel with the Beijing Number 1 Intermediate Court. AMSC is seeking approximately US$6 million in compensation and has asked for a cease and desist order on infringing intellectual property.
4. AMSC has filed a copyright case against Sinovel and Guotong Electric with the Hainan Number 1 Intermediate Court. In this case, AMSC has asked for a cease and desist order on infringing intellectual property.
