Tesla Inc. had started receiving complaints from customers which were actually meant for Tesla Power.

According to media reports, American EV giant Tesla has filed a lawsuit against an Indian battery company named 'Tesla Power', alleging trademark infringement.

The EV maker is already said to have sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Indian company in 2022, which has a global office in Delaware, under the name 'Tesla Power USA'.*However, the company continues to use the name even now and argues that it manufactures "lead acid batteries" and not electric vehicle batteries and that it has no aspirations of entering the EV industry.

Tesla Inc., however, states that the use of the name by the Indian company is causing confusion in the country. The EV maker's senior counsel, Chander Lall, stated that Tesla Inc. had started receiving complaints from customers which were actually meant for Tesla Power.

The judge has barred Tesla Power from releasing any promotional material with the "Tesla" name until its next hearing scheduled for May 22. The battery company will also have to give a written response for its defence by then.

Source: FoxBusiness

The inaugural Miami Grand Prix will be held between May 7th - 9th.

Formula 1 will be heading to Miami, USA, for the first time next month. However, ahead of the inaugural Grand Prix some residents of Miami Gardens had recently filed a lawsuit over concerns about the noise levels associated with the upcoming race weekend. According to reports, the residents are complaining that the high noise levels from the Grand Prix could lead to hearing damage.

However, a Miami judge has denied the lawsuit and allowed the 2022 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix to go ahead as scheduled. The judge stated that the evidence presented by the plaintiffs is "speculative" and that those concerned about the noise should stay indoors and / or wear earplugs.

The residents claimed that the Grand Prix violated the city's noise ordinance, which bans unreasonable noise disturbance causing injury or harm to residents. In return, the attorneys of the Grand Prix stated that the ordinance has expectations for events benefitting the city. They also stated that there is no evidence that the race would cause harm.

The judge has ordered Grand Prix officials to take decibel-level measurements throughout the weekend. Some of these measurements will also be taken away from the race circuit - at a distance equal to that of the homes of some of the residents filing the lawsuit. This will allow the courts to access the exact noise levels and take a decision post the race weekend.

The inaugural Miami Grand Prix will be held between May 7th - 9th. The Miami GP is the second F1 race to be held in USA, following the GP at the Circuit of the Americas. The race will be held in the Hard Rock Stadium complex, on a 19-turn 5.41 km circuit covering 57 laps.

Source: News18

Former Google engineer, Anthony Levandowski, has been charged with stealing trade secrets from Google before joining Uber. He has reportedly been fired from Uber.

The 33-count indictment is similar to a 2017 lawsuit filed by Waymo against Uber. The 39-year old engineer pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins in San Jose, California. A preliminary bail package of US$ 3,00,000 was set along with pledging of two properties worth US$ 2 million as collateral. Another hearing has been scheduled on September 4, 2019 to set the final bail terms. If convicted, Levandowski could face up to 10 years in prison.

It is reported that Levandowski has surrendered his American and French passports and is wearing an ankle bracelet that allows authorities to monitor his movements. He is accused of stealing material related to Lidar (a sensor technology) in late 2015 and early 2016. It is said that he then left Waymo, which is owned by Google, and set up his own self-driving company, Ottomotto, which was later bought by Uber.

His lawyers have reportedly said that he was still working with Waymo when the downloads occurred and that he was authorized to use the information.

Source: Economic Times

Image Source: BBC

Ferrari has threatened to sue a fashion designer over a few Instagram posts. The Italian carmaker says the post "tarnishes the reputation of Ferrari's brands and causes Ferrari further material damage".

One of the pictures in question shows a pair of sneakers on the designer's personal Ferrari 812 Superfast. The designer, Philipp Plein, says that Ferrari's letter is blackmail and he has not deleted the posts from his Instagram account. Ferrari claims that by using pictures of the car with his product, Philipp is using Ferrari's trademark for promotional purposes to increase his product's visibility.

Philipp Plein also says that he bought his first Ferrari 10 years back and also bought a Ferrari recently for his mother as a birthday gift. He also lashed out at Louis Camilleri, CEO of Ferrari, and claims that he is disappointed and disgusted about Ferrari's claim.

Source: The Verge, Instagram

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will have to face a lawsuit, which claims that the company defrauded its shareholders by overstating its ability to comply with vehicle safety laws. In late 2014, the company had claimed that its cars were substantially compliant with the safety laws even though it was examined by National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) for shortcomings which resulted in two recalls.

The Judge has also allowed the shareholders to pursue compliance disclosure claims against Sergio Marchionne - the company's CEO and Scott Kunselaman - the former safety chief of FCA US unit, to which FCA replied saying that it would defend itself against the surviving claims.

The investors could and likely would have interpreted Fiat Chrysler's statement that its cars were compliant with all the applicable regulations. This could have been misleading as NHTSA began probing the automaker, which made them monitor the safety issues closely. Post this, the company admitted to widespread noncompliance and started the recalls.

Source: ET Auto