EV Chassis Trade Secret Litigation Sets A New Damage Record In China IP Cases

In June, a technical trade secrets spat related to electrical vehicle (EV) chassis technology between Chinese veteran player Geely and a new EV brand, Weltmeister, came to an end after six years with the highest damages in China's IP enforcement history.

China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) handed down the RMB 640 million (about $95 million) judgment on 14 June, overruling the Shanghai Higher People's Court's judgment by stating that Weltmeister illicitly obtained and used Geely's whole EV chassis technical secrets rather than some parts of the secrets and increasing the award from the initial statutory damages of RMB 5 million (about $700,000). The final figure was calculated using Weltmeister's sales profits of EX series SUV plus two times punitive damages.