SK, LG clash over scope of patent accord
The battery feud between SK Innovation and LG Chem has been further escalating into a mud fight as the former has delivered an immediate riposte to the latter’s additional lawsuit over patents of electric vehicle (EV) batteries describing its actions as a breach of bilateral accord.
SK has claimed that LG Chem’s latest move violated a prior legal agreement in which the two agreed not to file lawsuits, the energy arm of SK Group said Sunday.
The tit-for-tat move, the latest development of the months-long legal feud over batteries for EVs since April, indicates the slim chances of the two parties finding a compromise.
On Sept. 26, LG filed a pair of lawsuits with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and a U.S. court in Delaware against SK and its U.S. subsidiary SK Battery America for allegedly infringing on LG’s patents on battery-making technologies.
SK said LG Chem breached the covenant not to sue, an agreement they made in 2014 after LG filed a patent infringement lawsuit with a local patent court against SK in 2011, alleging its safety-reinforced separator (SRS) technology was violating its patent.
Then, the local patent court dismissed LG’s litigation as the technology lacked novelty and the two companies agreed not to file lawsuits on the matter.
“According to LG Chem’s petition to the U.S. ITC, LG’s claim that SK infringed battery patents granted in the U.S. includes the SRS technology that the local patent court confirmed lacks novelty,” an SK official said.
“After LG lost the legal battle, the two agreed not to file lawsuits on the matter for 10 years in 2014. LG’s additional patent lawsuit with the U.S. agency and the court is an action disrespectful of the country’s patent laws.”
In response to SK’s claim, LG Chem claimed the covenant not to sue on the matter cannot be applied to lawsuits taking place in other countries.
“The patent lawsuit we filed with the U.S. agency and the U.S. court is completely different from the lawsuit with the local court in terms of the extent of a right,” an LG Chem official said.
“Based on the principle of patent independence which means a country can define the scope of the rights and validity of a patent, the scope of the patentee’s rights can be different in each country.”
LG Chem elaborated that its U.S. patent lawsuit against SK is similar with the lawsuit with Chinese battery maker ATL. LG filed a patent lawsuit with a U.S. court in 2017 against ATL, claiming the Chinese company had infringed on three of its battery separator patents. LG’s technology was recognized and the company won a settlement and license agreement with ATL.
“Regarding the SRS technology, LG Chem has built a strong patent portfolio with some 800 patents in many countries including Korea, the U.S., European countries, China and Japan,” the LG Chem official said.
The prolonged legal battle between the two makers seems to be never-ending even though chiefs of the companies met face to face on Sept. 16 to seek a breakthrough amid growing criticism over the domestic quarrel. Meanwhile China and Japan are desperately trying to improve their capabilities to take the lead in the EV battery market.