Lidar tech company Ouster sues Hesai Group over patents

[April 13, 2023]   By Blake Brittain
 
(Reuters) - Ouster Inc, a San Francisco-based provider of lidar light sensors used in fields like autonomous vehicles, defense and robotics, sued Chinese rival Hesai Group on Tuesday for patent infringement in Delaware federal court and at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Lidar technology is used for 3D mapping, navigation and object detection in various high-tech industries. Ouster's complaints said Hesai incorporated its digital lidar technology into the Shanghai-based company's sensors.

Hesai did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaints.

"As companies attempt to copy our digital approach, we will continue to vigorously enforce our intellectual property until the infringing products are barred," Ouster CEO Angus Pacala said in a statement Wednesday.

Ouster said in the complaints that it pioneered technology transforming lidar from "an analog device with thousands of components" into a simple digital device.

Ouster accused Hesai's sensors of infringing five patents covering core aspects of its digital lidar technology. It asked the Delaware court for an unspecified amount of money damages and the ITC to bar imports of infringing Hesai products.

Hesai settled a patent dispute with San Jose, California-based Velodyne Lidar Inc in 2020.

Ouster and Velodyne merged in February. Hesai also went public in the United States in February.

The cases are Ouster Inc v. Hesai Group, U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, No. 1:23-cv-00406 and In the Matter of Certain Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) Systems and Components Thereof, U.S. International Trade Commission, No. 337-TA-3675.

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)

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