Bloomberg reports that Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. were told to pay Paice LLC $28.9 million after a federal jury said the South Korean carmakers infringed patents related to hybrid engines.
The jury on Thursday, October 1 rejected arguments by Hyundai and Kia that the patents owned by Paice LLC were invalid, and instead found the infringement was intentional. That means the trial judge could increase the damage award to as much as three times the amount set by the jury.
Paice, created by Russian emigrant and former antitank-warfare engineer Alex Severinsky, developed the technology. The patents cover ways to control electric motors and internal combustion engines so they have increased fuel efficiency and lower emissions without sacrificing performance.