GM Sued by Replacement Parts Maker to Head Off Patent Claims

Aftermarket auto parts seller LKQ Corp. sued General Motors in Chicago federal court seeking a declaration that its parts don’t infringe GM design patents.

The Wednesday complaint says GM told other companies that LKQ parts infringe its patents “in an effort to undermine LKQ’s business relationships and pressure LKQ into agreeing to unfair licensing terms.”

GM allegedly demanded that a third-party seller remove replacement parts from its platform that it said infringed its design patents, including LKQ parts. But LKQ said it licenses GM’s design patents under an agreement with the automaker, and that GM is trying to strong-arm it ...