LG InnoTek sells its US LED patents to Chinese company 

LG InnoTek has sold its 1,968 patents related to LED technology registered in the US to a Chinese company called Suzhou LEKIN Semiconductor on May 20, according to filings made to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Suzhou, China-based LEKIN Semiconductor was founded in on March 2 and registered as a company on April 3. The firm’s initial capital was shown to be 80 million yuan. 

LEKIN is to be owned by various entities, each owning shares ranging from 8% to 17%. This includes CEO Guilin Shuang, who owns a personal stake of 16.37%.

LEKIN is yet to manufacture any LED related products.

People familiar with the matter said LEKIN had also acquired LG InnoTek’s LED patents registered in other countries besides the US. 

The total patents the Chinese company acquired is around 10,000, they said. 

LEKIN could sell the patents it acquired again to a third-party, the people said, or it could be used by connected patent funds that are trying to use them for litigation.

In recent years, courts in China such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are increasing the awards for patent infringements.

LG InnoTek will also likely reward employees who contributed in the some 10,000 LED patents going forward under South Korean law. Companies that register their employees invention as patents or sell them must reward the employees accordingly.

Earlier this year, the South Korean component firm sold its patents related to wireless charging to Ireland-based non-practicing entity Scramoge Technology.

LG InnoTek decided to exit the LED business back in October 2019. It made the exit official last year in October. Throughout 2020, it has been attempting to sell its LED facilities in South Korean and China but these plans have been delayed due to the pandemic.