Ford Accuses Supplier of Disclosing Trade Secrets in Patent Bids

Ford Motor Company sued energy-systems manufacturer Sol-Ark, alleging it disclosed the carmaker’s trade secrets without permission by filing applications to patent ways to use electric vehicles as battery back-ups in a home-energy system.

Portable Solar LLC, Sol-Ark’s corporate name, didn’t inform Ford that it planned to file patent applications containing Ford’s confidential information, according to a complaint filed Oct. 17 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Ford said it discovered the disclosure after the US Patent and Trademark Office published Sol-Ark’s patent applications in August 2024.

Ford alleged violations of trade secrets laws, unfair competition, ...