BMW has been hit with a patent infringement lawsuit from a Baltimore, Md.- based hybrid engine technology provider.

Paice LLC and nonprofit The Abell Foundation Inc. said BMW has infringed on their patents involving hybrid engines, according to a suit filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Maryland. Baltimore-based Abell Foundation is an investor in Paice.

Infringement is claimed on eight BMW hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, including the 330e iPerformance, 530e iPerformance, 750e xDrive iPerformance, i8 Roadster Plug-in and Mini Countryman Plug-in.

"Paice shared intimate details of our hybrid vehicle technology with BMW in good faith," Paice CEO Robert Oswald said in a statement. "Rather than negotiate a license for our technology, BMW took what it learned from Paice and used it for its own gain."

BMW declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

Paice was involved in similar litigation with several automakers, including Ford, Toyota, Hyundai and Kia. Those automakers subsequently paid Paice to license its technology. Paice was founded by Russian emigrant and engineer Alex Severinsky to commercialize his work on a high-voltage method to power gas-electric hybrid motors.

Previous article BMW sees its electric iNEXT as...
Next article BMW taps wind power to guard profit...

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here