Stock in American Superconductor jumped 10 % on 28 May, in anticipation of a positive result for the company in its multiple lawsuit against Chinese company Sinovel.
Stock in American Superconductor jumped 10 % on 28 May, in anticipation of a positive result for the company in its multiple lawsuit against Chinese company Sinovel. China’s Supreme People’s Court was due to hear AMSC’s copyright infringement case on May 29.
In late 2011 AMSC brought four legal cases against Sinovel Wind Group regarding its alleged contractual breaches and intellectual property theft. This hearing will review the jurisdiction of AMSC’s software copyright infringement cases against Sinovel and Guotong Electric. The court is expected to review the jurisdiction of AMSC’s civil action filed against Sinovel in the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court as well as AMSC’s civil action filed against Sinovel and Guotong Electric in the Hainan Province No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court. These are two of the cases that AMSC brought regarding Sinovel’s contractual breaches and AMSC’s discovery of intellectual property theft by Sinovel. AMSC is also engaged in a commercial arbitration case and a trade secrets case against Sinovel in China.
In September 2011, AMSC filed a civil action with the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court that alleges Sinovel’s unauthorised copying and use of portions of AMSC’s wind turbine control software developed for Sinovel’s 1.5 MW wind turbines, and the binary code, or upper layer, of AMSC’s software for its PM3000 power converters. In this case, AMSC is seeking a cease and desist order and damages of US$6 million. In November 2011, Sinovel filed a motion to remove this case from the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court and transfer the matter to the Beijing Arbitration Commission. The court denied Sinovel’s motion to remove the case. Sinovel filed an appeal of that decision to the Beijing Higher People’s Court, and the Beijing Higher People’s Court supported the Beijing No. 1 People’s Court’s ruling and rejected Sinovel’s appeal. Sinovel then filed an appeal of that decision with China’s Supreme People’s Court.
In September 2011, AMSC also filed a copyright case against Sinovel and Guotong Electric with the Hainan Province No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court. In this case, AMSC is seeking a cease and desist order as well as damages of approximately US$200 000. In this case, Sinovel filed a jurisdiction opposition motion in December 2011 requesting that the same court dismiss AMSC’s case against Sinovel, saying the case should be governed by the Beijing Arbitration Commission pursuant to the terms of contracts between AMSC and Sinovel. The court grant Sinovel’s motion, and dismissed the cases against Sinovel and Guotong. AMSC appealed the dismissal to the Hainan Higher Court, which in April 2012 upheld the decision of the Hainan court. AMSC filed an appeal with China’s Supreme People’s Court.
John Powell, vp and general counsel, AMSC, commented: "President Xi Jinping recently said that China will protect legitimate rights of foreign enterprises. AMSC’s cases against Sinovel are the perfect test for whether statements like these are rhetoric or reality.’