Nope. Severinksy sued Toyota claiming it stole the system for powering gas-electric hybrid vehicles that he patented in 1994 -- and he freaking won.

Severinsky started his career developing instrumentation for anti-tank warfare after receiving his degree in electrical engineering from the Kharkov College of Radioelectronics in Ukraine in 1967. He later earned his Ph.D. in the same field from Moscow's Institute for Precision Measurements in Radioelectronics and Physics. Then, in 1977, he immigrated to the U.S. What happens after then is where the story really kicks off. According to Jalopnik:
"On Sept. 6, 1994, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued Severinsky a patent for a high-voltage method of powering gas-electric hybrid vehicles. He called the method, and the technology involved in it, Hyperdrive. The filing was the culmination of years of work and research, and it represented an early version of the thinking that led to the drivetrain in most modern hybrids."

Three years later, the Prius hit the market, and it used, as it still does, a version of Severinsky's technology.

Interestingly, both parties now acknowledge that the technology was developed in parallel; that is, independently and without knowledge of what the other was working on. However, long story short, Severinksy has been awarded a royalty settlement from Toyota that will no doubt mean big bucks. For the full rundown of the six-year legal battle, check out Jalopnik's excellent timeline.