Battery war not over yet… Litigation left after ITC final decision

[이데일리 경계영 기자] The battery (secondary battery) lawsuit arising from the outflow of manpower from the battery business division of LG Chem, the predecessor of LG Energy Solutions to SK Innovation, was regarded as a patent infringement lawsuit, starting with the lawsuit for infringement of trade secrets in the US International Trade Commission (ITC). Unless a comprehensive agreement is reached, this is the background in which the two companies will be fighting.

First, LG Energy Solutions filed a lawsuit for infringement of trade secrets not only in ITC but also in the Federal District Court of Delaware. The ITC determines whether trade secrets are infringed and the extent of the import ban, and the district court determines the amount of damages. Even after the final decision of the ITC, if the veto is not exercised during the administrative deliberation period, there is a possibility that SK Innovation will appeal to the Federal Appeals Court.

Even if these trade secret infringement lawsuits are settled, another battery lawsuit is in full swing over whether or not a patent is infringed. SK Innovation, who was sued for infringement of trade secrets in April 2019, filed a lawsuit against LG Energy Solutions to ITC for infringing battery patents in September of the same year. About 20 days later, LG Energy Solutions also filed a lawsuit against SK Innovation for patent infringement. The ITC plans to make final decisions on these lawsuits on November 30th and July 19th.

In this regard, LG Energy Solutions and SK Innovation filed a lawsuit against the Patent Tribunal of the US Patent Office (PTAB) claiming that each other’s patents were invalid. Currently, only SK Innovation’s patent invalidation lawsuit filed by LG Energy Solutions has been accepted, and a final decision is expected in the second half of this year.

Both companies are suing lawsuits not only in the US but also in Korea. In October 2019, SK Innovation filed a lawsuit against LG Energy Solutions in the Seoul Central District Court to claim revocation and compensation for damages. This was the reason that LG Energy Solutions violated the agreement between the two companies not to file a patent dispute in 2014 and filed a lawsuit against ITC. In August of last year, the Seoul Central District Court raised the hands of LG Energy Solutions, saying, “The patents agreed between the two companies in 2014 and the patents filed with ITC are separate”, but SK Innovation filed an appeal. It plans to start trial in the patent court soon.

In addition, the case that LG Energy Solutions sued SK Innovation to the police in May 2019 and to the prosecution in June last year for violations of the’Industrial Technology Protection Act’ is also under investigation by the police.

Source=Company