LG-SK Battery Lawsuit Ends... Patent Infringement Case Remains

Final Verdict on Battery Patent Infringement Lawsuit by Year-End

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The battery lawsuit between LG and SK, which has been ongoing at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) since 2019, reached its final conclusion on the 10th (U.S. local time). However, the patent infringement lawsuits filed by both companies at the ITC remain, so conflicts are expected to continue for the time being.

According to industry sources on the 11th, the battery technology patent lawsuit between LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation is still ongoing.

In April 2019, when LG Chem filed a trade secret infringement lawsuit, SK Innovation filed a complaint against LG Chem in September of the same year at the U.S. ITC and federal court for battery technology patent infringement. SK Innovation identified that LG Chem infringed on two of its patents in batteries supplied to GM, Audi, and Jaguar electric vehicles, demanding injunctive relief and damages.

In response, LG Energy Solution filed a countersuit at the U.S. ITC and Delaware federal court, claiming that SK Innovation infringed on a total of five patents, including three U.S. patents for SRS®, a core material for secondary batteries, and two U.S. patents for cathode materials.

The ITC's final decision on the patent infringement lawsuit filed by LG against SK is expected on July 19 this year, and the final decision on the patent infringement lawsuit filed by SK against LG is expected on November 30 this year.

The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board dismissed eight battery patent invalidation trials filed by SK against LG one after another until last month. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board is currently investigating only one patent invalidation trial filed by LG against SK. However, since these patent lawsuits are accompanied by trade secret infringement disputes, they could be terminated early depending on the settlement of the trade secret infringement lawsuit.