GE CEO Jeff Immelt, protecting his turf
General Electric (GE), one of the world’s largest wind turbine makers, yesterday filed a new complaint in Dallas federal court against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The complaint alleges that the Japanese industrial conglomerate infringed on two of its wind turbine patents.
The move follows a January 8th ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), which concluded that Mitsubishi had not violated five other GE wind turbine patents.
In this latest suit, which is not related to the ITC case, what GE seems to be doing is using IP law to block Mitsubishi turbines from entering the US market. GE and Vestas of Denmark control a lion’s share of that market. See a copy of the complaint below the fold.
“GE is doing exactly what I would advise my clients: ‘Patent your technology to help you lock-up the U.S. market,” a partner with the IP practice of a large U.S. law firm tells us. “This is a business strategy to slow down competition,” he says.
Last Fall, Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) wrote a letter to the ITC supporting Mitsubishi. Press reports say that Mitsubishi might build a $100 million turbine plant in western Arkansas, and the American Wind Energy Association ranks Oregon sixth in the U.S. for installed wind capacity. The letter urged the ITC “to consider the impact” that blocking importation of wind turbines could have “on the economy and the public’s welfare — the public interest.” We’ve posted a copy the letter below.
GE’s complaint claims that Mitsubishi infringed on a patent protecting a component of the turbine that supports the weight of the rotor. The other patent protects a component that keeps the turbine connected to the electricity grid during voltage drops, Bloomberg News reports.
In a prepared statement emailed to GER, GE said:
GE has 148 issued US patents related to wind energy. MHI has substantially less. We believe that there are multiple areas where MHI’s 2.4 MW wind turbines infringe on GE’s existing patents.
According to Bloomberg News, last year GE built 2,633 wind turbines, down from more than 3,323 in 2008. A spokesman for Mitsubishi tells the online edition of the Wall Street Journal that the company has received the latest complaint and will decide how to respond.
Law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, represents GE. No word yet on Mitsubishi’s legal counsel.
Image: General Electric, Flickr