GT Advanced Technologies Inc. says its subsidiary, GTAT Corp. (formerly known as GT Solar Inc.), has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Poly Plant Project Inc. and PPP Equipment Corp. of Burbank, Calif., for alleged ‘misappropriation of GTAT's trade secrets relating to its polysilicon reactor equipment.’
The GTAT complaint alleges, among other things, that the PPP entities – through its employee Fabrizio Goi – misappropriated proprietary drawings and other confidential information relating to GTAT's reactors as a means of entering the polysilicon equipment business.
The complaint further alleges conversion, unfair competition, interference with contract and interference with economic relations.
Jan Maurits, president of PPP, has challenged these claims, stating that the lawsuit is ‘completely false and baseless.’
‘There's no way to stop a company from filing a frivolous case,’ Maurits says. ‘Back in 2008, GT Solar filed a suit against Fabrizio Goi, who is a prized PPP consultant. Now GT Solar is essentially making the same claims against Poly Plant Project Inc.
‘GT Solar's lawsuit appears to be nothing more than a continued strategy of competition by litigation,’ Maurits adds. ‘This lawsuit only validates PPP's belief that PPP is a true competitor in the eyes of GT Solar and the polysilicon industry.’
The Siemens-type chemical vapor deposition reactors used by both GT Solar and PPP are not proprietary and have been widely used in the production of solar polysilicon throughout the industry, according to PPP.
