Velodyne Claims Chinese Patent Infringement

Velodyne Lidar Inc. has accused two Chinese companies of infringing on its patents for rotating 3D sensors used by autonomous vehicles to identify objects around them.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company filed the complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission against Hesai Photonics Technology Co. and Suteng Innovation Technology Co.

Velodyne made similar complaints earlier this week in a lawsuit filed against the two companies in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Both filings claim the Hesai and Suteng copied multiple aspects of Velodyne’s high-definition rotating lidar technology after conducting engineering teardowns. Velodyne founder David Hall received a patent for the technology in 2011.

The U.S. company seeks a cease-and-desist order and permanent limited exclusion order that block the Chinese suppliers from importing and selling rotating 3D lidar devices in the U.S. that infringe upon Velodyne’s patents.

Velodyne has said it has more than 250 customers worldwide for its various lidar devices, mostly for low-volume prototype applications and autonomous vehicle test fleets. The company aims to ramp up mass production later this year.