Velodyne Lidar, Inc. filed a patent infringement complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) against Hesai Photonics Technology Co., Ltd. and Suteng Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (a.k.a. RoboSense) for violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 which makes unfair methods of competition and importation of certain products into the United States unlawful.

Earlier this week, Velodyne also filed patent infringement complaints against Hesai and RoboSense in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

Velodyne is asking the ITC to investigate these lidar manufacturers for unlawfully importing and selling lidar sensors that infringe Velodyne’s patented lidar technology (U.S. Patent 7,969,558). Velodyne requests the ITC issue permanent limited exclusion orders and cease and desist orders against Hesai and RoboSense to stop the importation and sale of rotating 3D lidar devices and products in the United States that infringe Velodyne’s patented lidar technology.

Velodyne Lidar Inc. is the inventor of surround view lidar. We are an invention-based company and vigorously defend our intellectual property to enable us to keep investing in and innovating our technology.

—David Hall, Founder & CEO, Velodyne Lidar

Hall invented real-time surround view lidar systems in 2005 as part of Velodyne Acoustics. Velodyne’s high-performance product line includes a broad range of sensing solutions, including the cost-effective Puck, the versatile Ultra Puck, the autonomy-advancing Alpha Puck, the ADAS-optimized Velarray, and software for driver assistance, Vella.

Hesai Photonics is based in Shanghai; Suteng Innovation is based in Shenzhen.