Ineos said Friday it was taking legal action against China's Sinopec Ningbo Engineering and subsidiaries SNEC and Anqing for alleged infringement of copyright and trade secrets.
It said in a statement the Ningbo Engineering Company had breached a technology agreement, which taken together with trade secret misuse by other Sinopec companies led to the development of Sinopec acrylonitrile plants without agreement or consent by Ineos.
Ineos is pursing legal action in courts in Beijing and arbitration in Sweden.
The company said it feared that the alleged infringements could damage its acrylonitrile business which is valued at $3 billion, generates profits of up to $500 million/year and employs around 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in the USA and Europe.
"We have good and valuable relationships with Sinopec and other Chinese companies across our business. But in this case, we have to take action to protect the interests of our stakeholders," Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe said.
"The fundamental value of a business like Ineos depends on its intellectual property which includes trade secrets and patents, covering technology, design and operations. Unless we protect our intellectual property, ultimately we will see the demise of Ineos," he added.
Ineos has had a longstanding relationship with SNEC for the licensing and use of acrylonitrile technology in China since 1984, according to the company.
Acrylonitrile is used in the production of plastic copolymers such as ABS and carbon fiber used in the manufacturing processes of many consumer products such as toys, power tools and is used in industries such as aerospace and automotive.
