Mitsubishi and GE face off over anti-trust accusations

The legal battle between Mitsubishi and General Electric over the US engineering giant's alleged attempts to monopolise the US market for wind turbines escalated yesterday after both companies attempted to declare victory following the latest court ruling in the long-running case.

US District Judge J. Leon Holmes in Fayetteville, Arkansas, rejected GE's request that he dismiss an antitrust lawsuit launched earlier this year by Mitsubishi. However, he did agree to stay the case until a separate GE suit accusing Mitsubishi of infringing on the company's patents has been resolved.

Holmes said in his ruling that if GE wins its patent infringement case then Mitsubishi's accusations that the company has been guilty of monopolistic behaviour will be moot and as a result the case should be formally put on hold.

Sonia Williams, a spokeswoman for Mitsubishi Power Systems America, said in a statement that the company was happy with a ruling that keeps its antitrust action alive.

"The judge's denial of GE's motion will ensure that a judge will hear the facts of a case that describes how GE seeks to monopolize the market for variable speed wind turbines in the United States," she said. "The judge did decide to stay discovery for the present. Nevertheless, we are heartened by his suggestion that he may terminate the stay if he finds appropriate circumstances. "

However, a spokesman for GE told news agency Reuters that the company disagreed with its rival's assessment of the court order, hinting that Mitsubishi had downplayed the fact that the case had been halted on the grounds it was inappropriate to proceed with the legal action until the patent spat is resolved.

The row dates back to 2008 when GE filed two patent infringement claims against Mitsubishi relating to grid connection and turbine frame technologies.

In January this year, the US International Trade Commission concluded that Mitsubishi had not violated the patents, but GE responded a month later by filing a suit in a federal court in Dallas again accusing Mitsubishi of breaching its patents.

Mitsubishi then upped the stakes, filing a counter suit in May accusing GE of making "baseless" claims of patent infringement against its rival and using the court case to monopolise parts of the burgeoning wind turbine market.

The company has said it could seek over $1bn in damages if GE is found guilty of monopolistic behaviour, although any legal battle will now have to wait on the decision from the on-going patent infringement case.