Flash Electronics India Ltd. has filed a suit against Royal Enfield in the US for patent infringement.
The company has said that the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) had issued a patent for "Regulator Rectifier Device and Method for Regulating an Output Voltage of the Same" on February 20, 2018.
The regulator rectifier converts AC (Alternating Current) voltage produced in motorcycle engines to DC (Direct Current) voltage to charge the batteries and power the headlights as well as instrument panel illumination. The company has been a key manufacturer and supplier of this component to 2-wheeler manufacturers in India and abroad.
Flash Electronics has also been granted patents for the component in Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Turkey.
In response, Royal Enfield has released a statement saying that it has not received an official communication yet and that the component in question is supplied by an external, proprietary supplier, which independently develops and owns the IP rights for the part.