LG Energy Solution declares war on patent infringement

[Graphics by Song Ji-yoon and Minu Kim]

South Korea’s LG Energy Solution unveiled plans to rigorously address patent infringements by global battery companies via legal action. The company aims to establish a fair competitive environment in the battery industry by creating a market for global battery patent licenses.

“Respect for intellectual property (IP) rights is essential for fair competition in the global market. We will protect our IP and respond firmly to indiscriminate patent infringements,” the company’s chief executive officer Kim Dong-myung said on Wednesday.

LG Energy Solution plans to pursue legal action if technology infringements persist, and will secure local experts in the United States, Europe, and China, on top of expanding its overseas IP offices, to manage intellectual property rights and bolster its global litigation capabilities.

The firm’s response to patent infringements stems from ongoing cases of indiscriminate infringements by latecomers in the industry. LG Energy Solution alleges that even major automotive manufacturers fail to consider patent compliance when selecting their battery suppliers, thus contributing to market distortion.

According to LG Energy Solution, as many as 580 of over 1,000 strategic patents have been infringed upon by competitors. Strategic patents refer to essential standard technologies in battery manufacturing, which latecomers are more likely to infringe upon during commercial production due to the challenges of developing alternative technologies.

In the case of batteries supplied to electronic device manufacturers, LG Energy Solution claims that a global battery manufacturer unlawfully used 50 of its patents, with these infringements involving core process technologies such as electrode design patents integrating double-layer coating and carbon nanotube (CNT) dispersion. Concerns regarding technology infringement also extend to the next-generation cylindrical battery series.

LG Energy Solution plans to explore revenue models such as patent pools, patent sales, and royalties in addition to addressing unauthorized patent use.

“As a leading battery company, we will proactively contribute to establishing a rational licensing market for patents, receive fair compensation for our patents, and continue to provide differentiated customer value by actively developing future core technologies,” Kim emphasized.

LG Energy Solution said it invested about $45 billion in battery research and development over the past decade.