Manitowoc Files Claim Against Sany for Theft of Intellectual Property

Manitowoc Cranes has filed a complaint requesting the U.S. International Trade Commission commence a Section 337 investigation into Chinese crane and equipment manufacturer Sany Heavy Industry and its subsidiary Sany America alleging that Sany unlawfully imported and sold crawler cranes and components that infringed on its patents, including its Variable Position Counterweight system, which Manitowoc originally launched on its Model 31000.

The complaint alleges that Sany recruited engineer John Lanning, an engineer, who now heads the Sany crawler crane design team. The complaint states that Sany targeted Lanning because of his knowledge of Manitowoc Cranes’ trade secrets, especially in regard to VPC technology, and that Lanning improperly shared those trade secrets and other confidential information and intellectual property with Sany.

The complaint, filed on June 12, asks the commission to exclude further importing of the cranes and to immediately destroy all crawler cranes and related molds, tooling and other equipment that uses Manitowoc misappropriated trade secrets.

In a statement released June 19, Sany Heavy Industry president Xiang Wenbo said: “Sany is proud of its industry-leading crane designs and the heavy equipment products and solutions we provide for our customers. The Sany SCC8500 crawler crane was developed from start to finish by Sany engineers, using our own ideas and our own technological innovations. We categorically reject the claims made by Manitowoc and stand fully behind our market-leading products. Sany will respond actively to this legal action through appropriate legal measures to protect our own intellectual property. We will continue to bring innovations to market, and offer choices for our customers in North America and around the world.”