Delhi Based Auto Component Maker Flash Electronics Sues Royal Enfield In A United States Court For Patent Infringement

New Delhi-based auto components company Flash Electronics India has sued Chennai-based motorbike manufacturer Royal Enfield for technology patent infringement in a court in the United States.

According to the suit filed in a US court, Royal Enfield allegedly infringed on a patent for ‘Regulator Rectifier Device and Method for Regulating an Output Voltage of the Same’ which was issued by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) to Flash Electronics on February 20, 2018.

The auto components maker is also in the process of suing Royal Enfield in Germany, United Kingdom, Sweden, Austria as well as India.

The Rs 1000-crore electronics and electrical component maker Flash Electronics has been suppliers to companies like Bajaj Auto, India Yamaha, Maruti-Suzuki and Jawa motorcycles, among others. Globally, it has clients like Porsche, Audi, BMW, KTM, Kawasaki, Harley-Davidson, Ducati, Triumph and BRP-Rotax.

Flash has been granted patents in several other countries including Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Austria, Switzerland as well as Turkey, where the auto component maker is in the process of filing similar suits against Royal Enfield.

The dispute arose after Fash Electronics India’s technology was allegely found in motorcycles made by Royal Enfield, according to the auto components maker, which has indicated that it wants the motorbike manufacturer to stop using its patented technology and intellectual property.

Flash has stated in its suit that its R&D department invented a key auto component called a rectifier in 2014, and that it has also been the main manufacturer and supplier of this component to motorbike manufacturers, both in India and overseas.

According to Flash, in June 2014, Royal Enfield approached the company to make a rectifier for their motorbikes. After Flash gave samples of the rectifier to Royal Enfield, the motorbike maker was found to have given those samples to another manufacturer to copy the samples, the auto component company stated.

After Flash objected to the infringement of its patent, Royal Enfield sent a senior team for negotiations which remained inconclusive, the auto component maker stated.