Intellectual Property Theft
Lumileds Receives 66 Million in Damages
The Chinese LED product manufacturer Elec-Tech was sentenced to 66 million US dollars in damages. Apparently the management has paid a Lumileds employee to access protected knowledge.
The verdict between Elec-Tech International (ETI) and Lumileds was pronounced by the California Supreme Court. It sees it as proven that ETI has illegally adopted core technology for the manufacturing of high-power LEDs used in automotive headlights and general lighting.
According to Lumileds, a »considerable payment« from ETI to Lumileds research associate Gangyi Chen was decisive for the conviction. Chen worked for Lumileds for four months after receipt of payment and had daily access to the company's protected knowledge. He then moved to ETI. Chen was the main defendant in the trial, along with ETI Managing Director Donglei Wang, who is said to have initiated the payment to him.
»A Clear Message to Industry«
Access to Lumileds' intellectual property has saved ETI approximately $66 million in research, according to the jury. This sum was set as compensation.
The precedent set was used by the head of Lumiled's legal department, Cheree McAlpin, to express a general warning. The verdict »sends a clear message to the industry that intellectual property is protected and that this protection is enforced«.
