Nidec Motor Corporation Amends Patent Infringement Action Against Broad Ocean Companies

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Nidec Motor Corporation ("NMC") has amended its patent infringement action against three Broad Ocean companies (Zhongshan Broad Ocean Motor Co., Ltd., Broad Ocean Technologies, LLC, and Broad Ocean Motor LLC, collectively "Broad Ocean") by adding a third patent, U.S. Patent No. 7,312,970, and an additional defendant, MARS Motors & Armatures ("MARS"), a Broad Ocean motor distributor, to the lawsuit. The amended complaint was filed late yesterday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. 

In addition to alleging that certain of Broad Ocean's electronically controlled blower motors for use in HVAC applications infringe multiple patents owned by NMC, the suit also alleges that MARS' offers for sale and sale of Broad Ocean AZURE DIGI-MOTOR motors infringe those same NMC patents. 

"Nidec Motor Corporation takes a hard line against manufacturers that infringe our patents.  The liability for infringing a patent does not stop at the manufacturer.   Distributors also infringe the patents by offering to sell or selling a patented product," said Kei Pang, NMC chief executive officer. "Our continuing duty to NMC customers, inventors, and stakeholders is to safeguard the significant investment we have made to introduce innovative products to the markets we serve, and this action is one of the many ways we meet that duty."

About Nidec Motor Corporation:  Nidec Motor Corporation (NMC) is a leading manufacturer of commercial, industrial, and appliance motors and controls. The NMC product line features a full line of high efficiency motors, large and small, which serve industrial, residential, and commercial markets in applications ranging from water treatment, mining, oil and gas, and power generation to pool and spa motors, air conditioning condensers, rooftop cooling towers, and commercial refrigeration. It also makes motors, controls, and switches for automotive, industrial, and commercial markets. Brands include U.S. Motors®, SR Drives®, Hurst®, Rescue®, RESCUE EcoTech®, SelecTech®, PerfectSpeed®, TITAN®, HOSTILE DUTY®, and ECOTECH EZ®.

Nidec SR Drives Ltd, a Nidec subsidiary, is based at the Nidec Motor UK Technology Centre in Harrogate, UK and operated by NMC specializing in the design and development of new products using advanced brushless motors and controls with a primary focus on SR technology.

SOURCE Nidec Motor Corporation