Eltek Initiates Legal Proceedings Against Major Chinese Company
The legal proceedings are caused by infringement of Eltek’s intellectual property rights. Eltek underlines that the motivation for pursuing this issue legally is of a principle character. The financial damage caused by this infringement, is modest.
"After learning about the existence of copied Eltek-products in the Chinese market, Eltek gained access to such product and conducted thorough investigations on its functions. Discoveries from the investigations led to the firm conclusion that production of the copied product would have been impossible for the Chinese defendant without illegal access to – and infringement of – Eltek’s trade secrets," said Morten Schøyen, marketing director of Eltek.
The company, of which Eltek has entered into legal proceedings, is based in Southern China and is a major Chinese company.
As part of its product development procedure, Eltek normally creates hidden menus in its software in order to easily document if copying takes place. In this case, Eltek’s hidden menu can be retrieved from the Chinese defendant’s products using Eltek’s own password. The data in the Chinese defendant’s rectifier may be read by Eltek’s control module. Parts of the user documentation enclosed in the Chinese company’s product are direct copies of Eltek’s documentation. Even the pictures therein display Eltek’s products. The Chinese company’s website contains English datasheets that are identical with Eltek’s. The website even refers to Eltek’s other product names.
The legal proceedings have been carefully prepared in cooperation among technical experts, Norwegian and Chinese lawyers. Evidence has been secured, legalized and notarized. The judge has today preserved evidence at the Chinese company’s production facilities. Eltek believes in the Chinese legal system and its ability to strike down upon these kinds of illegal activities.
"Eltek underlines that the motivation for pursuing this issue legally is of a principle character. The financial damage caused by this infringement, is modest. Eltek’s world class technology is a unique asset. The company will relentlessly – and without exception – pursue any infringement of its intellectual property rights," said Schøyen.
