LG and SK trade barbs again over patent case
Pair's public battle of words escalates as President Biden's decision looms close
LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation clashed again over the ruling made by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in the pair’s lawsuit over trade secret.
ITC’s final judgment against SK Innovation, in which it ordered a 10-year important ban on the company’s batteries to the US, will come into affect within a week unless President Joe Biden vetoes it.
On Tuesday, SK Innovation cited its recent victory against LG Energy Solution in a separate ITC case over patents related to battery separators. The commission made a preliminary determination on March 31 that said SK didn’t infringe on LG’s patents.
SK also cited its victory over another patent infringement case filed by LG in 2011. The pair settled the matter in October 2014 and agreed to not file lawsuit against each other for the next ten years.
However, the fight was reignited when LG filed its trade secret lawsuit against SK in 2019.
In its latest statements, SK claimed LG has been attempting to sabotage the firm over separators, but SK had won all related cases after 10 years.
SK also said ITC’s preliminary determination in March proves that its technology is its own and different from LG’s patents.
If there was a substantial verification process in the separate trade secret case, there would have been a different ruling [in which SK won], the company claimed.
LG retaliated with its own statements, saying SK was claiming it has already won despite ITC’s ruling over their patent case being only preliminary. SK was interpreting the preliminary ruling to favor its own interest, LG claimed.
SK’s own consistent force arguments for the past two years was the real sabotage, LG alleged. SK must admit that, as a late comer to the market, it stole technology for fast growth, LG said. It was a shame that SK was focusing on slandering its opponent rather than finding a solution, LG added.
The pair will likely continue their legal battle, irrelevant of whether ITC’s judgment on trade secret gets vetoed or not.
Unless there is a settlement, the companies will continue their legal dispute at a court in Delaware.