LG Energy Solutions has taken a stab at ‘riding without a patent’ which is rampant in the industry. LG Energy Solutions announced on the 24th, “We will respond strongly to companies that use patents illegally through lawsuits and warnings.”
The reason why LG Energy Solutions takes a hard line against patent free riding is because battery latecomers indiscriminately infringe on intellectual property (IP) rights. Company A, a global battery company, supplies electric vehicle batteries to Company B, which sells electric vehicles throughout Europe As a result of the analysis, it was found that LG Energy Solution’s core materials and processes, such as coating separators and cathode materials , infringed on more than 30 patents. When analyzing the batteries of Company C, which supplies batteries to electronic device manufacturers, they were found to be infringing on more than 50 LG Energy Solutions patents.
Meanwhile, LG Energy Solution has filed lawsuits against competitors for patent infringement or trade secret theft in the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and German courts. However, as intellectual property rights violations continue and even major automakers do not consider compliance with patent rights when choosing battery suppliers, market distortions are becoming more serious, so they have decided to take stronger responses.
As the global battery market has grown rapidly over the past decade, incidents of indiscriminate technology theft have also increased rapidly. Unlike first movers, including LG Energy Solutions, latecomers who have difficulty securing patents are using patents without permission and expanding their market access to Europe, China, India and Southeast Asia.
Among the patents held by LG Energy Solutions, the number of ‘strategic patents’ that competitors infringe or are expected to infringe amounts to around 1,000. An official from LG Energy Solutions said, “The number of patents confirmed to have been infringed by competitors actually reaches 580.”
LG Energy Solutions plans to streamline its licensing business and management by gradually licensing major patents through a global patent pool, focusing on patents that are currently infringing the market. If indiscriminate technological infringement continues without a legitimate license agreement, we intend to take strong action, such as filing a lawsuit to prohibit patent infringement. An official from LG Energy Solutions said, “We intend to systematically manage and supervise global intellectual property rights by securing local experts in major markets such as the United States, Europe and China to strengthen our global litigation capabilities and expand overseas IP offices which governs intellectual property rights “He explained. LG Energy Solution CEO Kim Dong-myeong said, “Respecting intellectual property rights is an essential element for fair competition in the global market.” He added, “For the survival of the company and the development of the industry, we will protect intellectual property rights and respond strictly to indiscriminate patent infringement.” .
Graphics = Chosun Design Lab
#infringed #patents.. #Ensol #draws #sword #technology #theft
