HiPhi said that the X, Y and Z series models that have been mass-produced were developed by the company itself, or jointly with supplier partners, and have its own intellectual property rights.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Human Horizons’ HiPhi brand denied allegations of trade secret infringement by Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc (NASDAQ: FFIE) against it and its founder.
“The company and Mr. Ding Lei do not have any plagiarism, infringement of FF’s trade secrets, intellectual property rights, or unfair competition,” HiPhi said in a statement today.
Earlier today, California-based Faraday Future announced it’s suing Ding and his company for alleged trade secret infringement and unfair competition.
Faraday Future is seeking monetary damages and further requests that the court order Human Horizons to immediately cease infringing on the company’s trade secrets related to the FF 91.
HiPhi’s already mass-produced X, Y, and Z series models were developed by the company itself, or jointly with supplier partners, and have its own intellectual property rights, it said.
HiPhi’s design patent for the X received a design award jointly issued by the China National Intellectual Property Administration and the World Intellectual Property Organization, it said.
“The company has been established for six years, and neither the company nor Mr. Ding Lei has ever received a lawsuit from FF before,” HiPhi said.
Faraday Future is an electric vehicle company founded by Chinese businessman Jia Yueting, who filed for bankruptcy in the United States in October 2019 after amassing billions of dollars in personal debt in China.
HiPhi and its parent company, Human Horizons, were founded in 2017 to target the high-end electric vehicle market of RMB 500,000 ($69,450) to RMB 800,000 yuan.
Before Human Horizons was founded, Ding worked with Jia at LeSEE, the car-making arm of Chinese internet company Leshi, from 2014 to 2017.
($1 = RMB 7.1990)
Faraday Future sues HiPhi founder in China for alleged trade secret infringement
