5.27.2019

Disputes between LG Chem and SK Innovation


The dispute between LG Chem and SK Innovation, one of Korea's leading battery makers is on the rise. The two companies are currently in a dispute over a battle for battery-related core manpower. SK Innovation has contradicted against LG Chem, saying that they’re ready to take the legal action, and the dispute between the two companies is spreading as a fight.

lgchem.com

The dispute that started with LG Chem's lawsuit,
The dispute began in the US by filing a lawsuit, LG Chem claimed that SK Innovation violated LG Chem’s battery-related trade secrets. LG Chem claims that SK Innovation has stripped about 70 key employees of LG Chem from 2017. LG Chem said that the job application for the SK Innovation’s recruitment application included details of the project in the previous job and the name of the co-worker.

skinnovation.com

Refuting against each other,
SK Innovation said that it is only a form of proof of career documents that is commonly used, and that filing a petition in a foreign country for legitimate business activities of the company is concerned about damage to national interests. LG Chem then reiterated that it would be a national interest to protect the core technology and intellectual property rights secured by research and investment, and that no company would make a bold investment if latecomers were allowed to use their trade secrets . In addition, it is not always routine to ask for the results of collaborative work and researchers' information on personal affairs with regard to the application documents.

pixabay.com

Increasing disputes between two companies,
Meanwhile, SK Innovation said that LG Chem's business secrets are not needed because it SK Innovation has secured the world's best technology through its own research and development. As a result of these two companies' lawsuits, refutations, re-refutations and rebuttal of materials, the gap between the two companies gradually increased, and the likelihood of a full-scale war was heightened. However, as the two companies are Korea's representatives for energy, hopefully that they will be resolved smoothly so as not to cause unfortunate events that would reduce the competitiveness of the country due to the exhaustion of the enterprises.










5.23.2019

[WIPSTUDY #4] Taiwan- Patent Litigation case study #4

Following up #3,
this time we're going to review the statistics of Taiwan patent status as analyzed US patent infringement litigation, also find out the reason why they became inactive through various cases focusing on;


  • Canceled
  • Terminated
  • Reissued
  • Expired


                                 < search n analysis database : WIPS Global >


4. Review Taiwan cases of US Patent Infringement Litigation Analysis

The followings are the conditions to review the *Taiwan cases out of the US infringement litigation. 
  • Federal court filing year (2011- present)
  • Analysis target : 200 cases
  • Current status of US 
* Taiwan cases means, litigation cases that Taiwan corporations are involved as the plaintiff or defendant. 

wipsglobal.com > SmartAngle- Status [US]


◀Statistics of Taiwan Status;
Active : 80% (178)
Inactive/ Canceled : 1% (2) 
Inactive/ Terminated : 1% (1)
Inactive/ Reissued : 2% (3)
Inactive/ Expired : 8% (16)













As see the above chart, Inactive status is described in 4 cases- Canceled, Terminated, Reissued, Expired. From now on we're going to review various cases corresponding to each of inactive cases.

✔ Inactive/ Canceled : 1%

Case : Lotes Co.Ltd v. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.,Ltd
⇿Summary : Lotes Co.Ltd filed against Hon Hai Precision Industry on Mar. 7, 2011.
                  Ex Parte Reexamination occured on Aug. 30, 2013, which resulted in the
                  entire claims 1-17 were canceled.

wipsglobal.com > Litigation search

  • Case type : Infringement
  • Terminated by : Likely settlement
  • Product : Connetors, CPU sockets, coolers and antennas for notebook computers...
  • Plaintiff : Lotes Co.,Ltd
  • Defendant : Hon Hai Precision Industry et al. 1
  • Patent : US 6908313





   ⏪ Ex Parte Reexamination Certificate
says;
The patent is hereby amended as indicated below.
As the result of reexamination, it has been determined that:
Claims 1-17 are cancelled.




















✔ Inactive/ Terminated : 1%

Case : Epistar Corporation v. Lowe's Companies, Inc.
⇿Summary : Apr. 28, 2017, Epistar filed an infringement suit against the Lowe's
                 Companies. On Aug. 30, 2018 Fujian Sanan Group filed an invalidation suit
                 against Epistar but the institution was denied. (ref. second below
                 screenshot) '020 patent was terminated on Nov. 11, 2019 as a terminal
                 disclaimer.

wipsglobal.com > Litigation search

  • Case type : Infringement
  • Status : open
  • Product : Kichler Lighting 60W Equivalent Dimmable Soft White A15 LED Decorative Light Bulb and the UTILITECH 60W Equivalent Warm White A19 LED Light Fixture Light Bulb.
  • Plaintiff : Epistar Corporation
  • Defendant : Lowe's Companies Inc. et al. 1
  • Patent : US 8587020

wipsglobal.com > Trial/Appeal search


  • Court name : PTAB (Patent Trial Appeal Board)
  • PTAB case : IPR (Inter Partes Review)
  • Outcome : No claims invalidated/ Canceled
  • PTAB status : Institution denied
  • Petitioner : Fujian Sanan Group
  • Patent Owner : Epistar Corp.





◀ Status of the patent '020' has been inactive by being terminated.

 ; as stated in Application history, filed in Nov.19, 1998 and terminated Nov.20, 2018









✔ Inactive/ Reissued : 1%

Case : Phison Electronics Corporation v. PNY Technologies
⇿Summary : Phison Electronics filed a suit against PNY Technologies on Nov. 2011. And
                  PNY filed an invalidation trial on PTAB next year, the patent owner filed the
                  Reissue application on Mar. 2015.

wipsglobal.com > Litigation search

  • Case type : Infringement
  • Terminated by : Likely settlement
  • Product : Memory storage products include, Cube and Attache families of products, flash memory drives containing SMI controllers....
  • Plaintiff : Phison Electronics.
  • Defendant : PNY Technologies
  • Patent : US 7518879

wipsglobal.com > Trial/Appeal search


  • Court Name : PTAB (Patent Trial Appeal Board)
  • PTAB case : IPR (Inter Partes Review)
  • PTAB status : Final Written Decision



⏪ Inter Partes Review Certificate

















    ⏪ Reissued document of the
       US patent RE 46871 E


       Applicant : Phison Electronics Corp.
       Reissue of Patent no. 7518879


















✔ Inactive/ Expired : 7%

Case : Cpumate Inc. v. Sony Corporation
⇿Summary : Cpumate Inc. filed a suit against several companies. After that the
                 corresponding patent was expired by the failure of paying maintenance
                 fees.

wipsglobal.com > Litigation search

  • Case type : Infringement
  • Terminated  by : Transferred out
  • Product : Sony PlayStation 3 game console
  • Plaintiff : Cpumate, Inc.
  • Defendant : Sony Corporation et al. 2
  • Patent : US 8387250


wipsglobal.com > Search-View Detail



◀ Status is appeared 'expired' dated Mar. 5, 2017 even the patent was filed Nov. 4, 2008.

wipsglobal.com > Search-View Detail > Legal Status


◀ It's described in the Legal Status that patent expired for failure to pay maintenance fees.











Continued.....>>







5.20.2019

Samsung Electronics Huawei ends patent dispute


The patent dispute between Samsung Electronics of Korea and Huawei of China finally ended. Samsung Electronics and Huawei have been in patent disputes for about three years from 2016 to February 2019. After a dramatic agreement in February, it is said that the formal legal process has finally come to an end.

flickr.com ©DennisM2

Patent dispute on smartphone of two companies
When Samsung Electronics emerged as a leader in the smartphone market, Huawei, which is newly entering the smartphone market, filed a lawsuit alleging that Samsung infringed the essential patent on the LTE communication in 2016. Since there were many opinions that Samsung Electronics was ahead of Huawei by technology, it was expected that Samsung Electronics would win easily. However, as the Chinese court held Huawei 's hand, the lawsuit went unexpectedly and eventually the dispute persisted for a long time of three years.

flickr.com ©Open Grid Scheduler

Reasons for reconciliation of two companies?
There were many opinions that Huawei filed a lawsuit, not for a victory but a strategic suit. It is a strategic lawsuit filed to improve the image of Huawei, which has entered the smartphone market late, and to take a favorable position in negotiations with Samsung. Cross-license agreements between Samsung and Huawei show that Huawei's strategy of the litigation may have worked.

pixabay.com

What is the relationship between Samsung Electronics and Huawei, from now on?
The patent dispute between the two companies has been terminated, but the rivalry between the companies seems to be not over yet. Currently, both companies are competing for 5G communication technology. Unlike 4G, there are many opinions that Huawei is preoccupying a favorable position under Chinese government’s active support. We’re going to have to watch the future of smartphone  rivalry.