Patent dispute in the material field between Korea and Japan

 

Export regulations of Japan and growth in the Korean material sector,

A year has passed since Japan announced that they would restrict exports of key materials needed to produce semiconductors and displays to Korea. At that time, the dependence on Japanese materials was very high, and Korea predicted that a major economic crisis would come. After export restrictions, large companies in Korea invested a lot of money to successfully localize materials. The Korean government has also stabilized at a faster-than-expected pace while not sparing support such as deregulation and R&D expenses.

🔺 flickr.com ©Windell Oskay

Unexpected consequences of export regulations,

As unexpectedly the Korean materials sector grew rapidly, Japan's export regulations were not hit hard. Rather, a crisis came as Japanese companies' customers disappeared due to export restrictions. When the material supply was not smooth, Samsung Electronics announced that it would no longer use Japanese-made materials, and LG Display and SK Hynix also came up with solutions such as signing a supply contract with a domestic company or replacing equipment with domestic ones. Currently, 76 of the 100 items that were expected to be damaged by Japanese export regulations have secured domestic production capacity, and Japanese companies are in a difficult situation to expect a recovery in future sales. The sales of Stella Chemifa, a Japanese manufacturer of hydrogen fluoride for semiconductor cleaning, decreased by 30% QoQ, and Sumimoto Chemical, which makes polyimide for display films, decreased by 70% YoY.

🔺 samsungsdi.co.kr

Japanese companies filing an objection to a patent in material field sector,

Recently, Japanese companies are increasingly filing objections against patents of Korean materials companies. Industry insiders say that after export restrictions, Korean companies have grown technically and have succeeded in localizing materials, while Japanese companies are struggling with a decline in sales, so they are pursuing such a strategy to restrain the growth of Korean companies. It seems that Japanese companies are able to pursue such strategies because they have confidence in the original technology. As a starter with market leadership, even if a patent infringement lawsuit proceeds, the probability of winning is higher.

🔺 wipsglobal.com
patents of LG Chemicals filed for oppositions in Japan

11 patents in the field of materials pending opposition,

According to an announcement by the Korean Intellectual Property Office, 72 core patents were created in the material field until the first half of this year after Japanese regulation. Of these, a total of 11 patents in the field of materials that were filed for opposition in Japan until last August. All 11 cases are focused on new technologies such as secondary batteries, energy storage devices, and optical films. As the material industry is a key element of the manufacturing industry, it must be observed to improve the national competitiveness in the future. The Intellectual Property Office is also planning to establish a patent dispute center so as not to be damaged in this area, and it is said that it is planning to provide priority support for disputes between material companies.

🔺 wipsglobal.com
patents that are filed for oppositions in 2020

The government decided to pursue a strategy to become a powerhouse in the materials field based on the experience gained from Japan's export regulations. We look forward to seeing if Korea can lead the material field beyond the current crisis.