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Investing.com -- Duracell, the battery manufacturer owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKb) since 2016, has been accused by BASF SE of stealing trade secrets related to lithium ion battery technology. BASF alleges in a lawsuit that Duracell misappropriated the technology while the two companies were under a cooperation agreement.
BASF is seeking redress for what it describes as Duracell's "flagrant misappropriation" of its trade secrets and a related breach of their collaboration agreement. The chemical producer claims that Duracell took confidential and trade secret information under the pretense of collaboration, then shared it with a third party, effectively sidelining BASF from its role as developer and supplier. This action, according to BASF, has caused substantial and irreparable injury to the company.
The trade secrets in question involve advanced materials for lithium-ion batteries, a field in which BASF has been actively working. The company alleges it developed a process for manufacturing a crucial battery material at a commercial scale. This research and development, which spanned several years, resulted in a process that produces high-quality material at a significantly reduced cost of production.
Duracell rebuffs these claims, as a company representative told Investing.com, "Duracell’s innovative battery chemistry was developed through years of work and significant investment by our internal R&D team and is the subject of numerous Duracell patents. We are aware of the baseless suit and will vigorously defend our interests in court."
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