AMSC says that China's Supreme People's Court has scheduled a hearing for May 29 to review the jurisdiction of AMSC's software copyright infringement cases against Sinovel and Guotong Electric.
During the proceedings, AMSC says, the court is expected to review the jurisdiction of AMSC's civil action filed against Sinovel in the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, as well as AMSC's civil action filed against Sinovel and Guotong Electric in the Hainan Province No. 1 Intermediate People's Court. These are two of the four legal cases that AMSC brought against Sinovel in late 2011 regarding Sinovel's contractual breaches and AMSC's discovery of intellectual property theft by Sinovel. AMSC is also engaged in a commercial arbitration case and a trade secrets case against Sinovel in China.
John Powell, AMSC's general counsel, says the upcoming proceeding will provide a ‘litmus test’ for how the U.S. provider will fare in the foreign court.
‘President Xi Jinping recently said that China will protect legitimate rights of foreign enterprises,’ Powell said. ‘AMSC's cases against Sinovel are the perfect litmus test for whether statements like these are rhetoric or reality. They will help to determine whether China will protect the intellectual property rights of all companies – both foreign and domestic.’
