Tesla has sued Cap-XX, an Australian firm, in a Texas federal court. The lawsuit alleges that Cap-XX’s supercapacitors, which are used for energy storage in electric-vehicle batteries, infringe on two U.S. patents owned by Tesla’s subsidiary, Maxwell Technologies, reports Reuters.
Although Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, committed in 2014 not to initiate patent lawsuits against those wanting to use Tesla’s technology in good faith, the company justifies this legal action as a response to a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Cap-XX against Maxwell Technologies in 2019.
The lawsuit statement emphasizes Maxwell Technologies’ history of innovation that has led to its own patents now assigned to Tesla. Musk’s company has initiated the lawsuit to defend its intellectual property rights.
The representatives from Tesla and Cap-XX have not yet commented on the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Tesla, which acquired Maxwell in 2019, and Cap-XX both produce capacitors for electric vehicles to enhance their energy storage capabilities. The alleged infringement by Cap-XX pertains to electrodes used in supercapacitors, which Tesla identifies as the primary source of the device’s power capabilities.
Texas-based Tesla has asserted that the electrodes utilized in Cap-XX’s supercapacitors operate in a similar fashion to Maxwell’s patented technology. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
The legal proceedings involving Cap-XX’s lawsuit, which alleges Maxwell of infringing on its supercapacitor patents, are ongoing in Delaware federal court.
