The appellants, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Geely Automobile Research Institute Co., Ltd. (“Geely”), along with the appellant, WM Motor Manufacturing Wenzhou Co., Ltd. (“WM Wenzhou”), and the appellees, WM Motor Technology Group Co., Ltd. (“WM Group”), WM Smart Mobility Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (“WM Smart Mobility”), and WM New Energy Vehicle Sales (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (“WM”), were involved in a trade secret infringement dispute. Dissatisfied with the civil judgment made by the Shanghai High Court (“First Instance Court”) on September 5, 2022 (“First Instance Judgment)”, they appealed to the Supreme People's Court (“SPC”).
On April 25, the SPC rendered a final verdict that overturned the First Instance Judgment, ordering WM to immediately cease disclosing, using, or allowing others to use Geely's new energy vehicle chassis application technology and the related twelve sets of automotive chassis component drawings and digital model trade secrets. WM was also ordered to compensate Geely for economic losses amounting to RMB 6.4 billion (USD 896 million) and reasonable expenses of RMB 5 million (USD 700,000) incurred to prevent the infringement.
Since 2016, nearly 40 senior executives and technical personnel from Geely's affiliated automobile companies have resigned and subsequently joined WM and its associated companies. Among them, 30 people left in 2016 and immediately joined WM. In 2018, Geely discovered that WM, with the aforementioned former employees as inventors or co-inventors, applied for 12 utility model patents involving the new energy vehicle chassis application technology and the related twelve sets of automotive chassis component drawings and digital model technology secrets (“Disputed Trade Secrets”), which they had accessed and mastered at Geely. Moreover, WM's and its affiliated companies, without legitimate technological sources, quickly manufactured and launched the WM EX series electric vehicles, suspected of infringing Geely's involved technical secrets. Geely filed a lawsuit with the Shanghai High Court, requesting that WM be ordered to stop infringing the involved trade secrets and to compensate for economic losses and reasonable expenses for rights protection, totaling RMB 2.1 billion (USD 294 million).
The SPC's second instance judgment found that the trade secrets involved in this case possess substantial commercial value and that Geely had taken reasonable measures to maintain the confidentiality of these secrets, their acts warrant legal protection.
Regarding whether WM Motor infringed on Geely's trade secrets, the second instance judgement found, based on the available evidence, that WM not only obtained all of Geely's involved trade secrets through improper means but also illegally disclosed some of these secrets by applying for patents. Additionally, WM used all of the trade secrets to manufacture the chassis and chassis components for the WM EX series electric vehicles (including EX5, EX6, and E5). WM's acts constitute an infringement on Geely's trade secrets.
Regarding the determination of damages, the SPC stated:
Before the revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law came into effect in April 2019, punitive damages could not be applied, only compensatory damages. For the period prior to the revised 2019 Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the infringing profit, which is the compensatory damage amount, was calculated to be RMB 24.9 million (average price of EX series RMB 175,200/vehicle × sales from 2018 to April 2019 of 8,873 vehicles × profit margin of 20% × contribution rate of Geely's involved trade secrets to the vehicle sales profit of 8%).
For the infringing profit from May 2019 onward (which is both the compensatory damage amount and the base for calculating punitive damages), the amount was calculated to be RMB 204 million (average price of EX series RMB 175,200/vehicle × sales from May 2019 to the first quarter of 2022 of 72,860 vehicles × profit margin of 20% × contribution rate of Geely's involved trade secrets to the vehicle sales profit of 8%). Double the said amount equal to punitive damages (RMB 204 million × 2 = RMB 408 million), and adding the compensatory damages for the same period, the total is RMB 612 million (RMB 408 million + RMB 204 million ).
The combined total of these amounts results in WM Motor being ordered to compensate Geely for economic losses of RMB 604 million.
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