Minkyunghwa LG Chem Executive Director "Startups Should Secure Patents from Early Stages of Technology Development" [Intellectual Property is Competitiveness]

④Interview with Min Kyung-hwa, Executive Director of LG Chem, on the US 'Battery Dispute'
Asia Economy-Seoul School of Integrated Sciences and Technologies Joint Project
"Intellectual property rights such as patents and copyrights must be recognized and valued in the market"
"Negotiations and disputes between companies should shed negative views... they are indispensable"
"Need to consider overseas patent applications including the US" and advocate for discovery introduction

Photos from the global startup festival 'ComeUp 2021' held at Dongdaemun DDP in November last year Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

"Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups have technological strengths. However, having technology does not automatically come with legal rights. To secure technology as a right, it is essential to actively file patent applications from the early stages of development."

Min Kyung-hwa, Executive Director at LG Chem, stated this in an interview with Asia Economy regarding IP utilization strategies for SMEs and startups. She advised that companies aspiring to enter the global market should actively pursue overseas patent applications. She said, "To maintain a certain position in the market, you must make it difficult for customers to easily abandon you," adding, "If patents are not properly secured, client companies will not respect the business."

Executive Director Min has deeply felt the importance of intellectual property strategies through numerous negotiations and legal disputes with domestic and international companies related to the patents held by her company. A former legal professional, she joined LG Group in 2013 and is responsible for intellectual property tasks such as patent licensing, litigation, and patent applications as the head of IP within the company. She currently serves as a private member of the National Intellectual Property Committee.

- What is a memorable experience as the head of the Patent Center?

▲ As the head of the Patent Center, I oversaw all intellectual property-related tasks including patents, trade secrets, related litigation, and negotiations. Recently, my greatest achievement was successfully concluding the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) trade secret infringement lawsuit against SK Innovation related to electric vehicle batteries. Having accumulated successful experiences in patent infringement lawsuits with global companies such as China's Amperex Technology (ATL), I was able to actively pursue the SK Innovation lawsuit as well.

- SMEs and startups are often vulnerable to patent infringement. What IP strategies do they need?

▲ SMEs and startups have technological strengths. However, technology and legal rights are separate matters. Having technology does not mean legal rights automatically follow. To secure technology as a right, you must actively file patent applications from the early stages of development. You need to publicly disclose and establish your own protective boundary. If you consider overseas exports in your business, you should also file overseas patent applications. It is true that resources are limited compared to large corporations, but to secure and maintain customers, legal rights must be protected overseas as well. To maintain a certain position in the market, you must make it difficult for customers to easily abandon you. There is a saying, 'Respect for humans begins with fear.' If patents are not properly secured, client companies will not respect the business. In business transactions between companies, it is not about always being nice to the other party, but about making them have a healthy fear of you.

Minkyunghwa, Executive Director of LG Chem

- What policy efforts should the government make to protect and utilize intellectual property rights?

▲ Government ministries such as the Korean Intellectual Property Office, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are working hard to create and protect intellectual property rights. But would any patent inventor hope that no one uses their patent? Both copyrights and patents must be recognized and valued in the market. The legitimate exchange value of intellectual property rights must be acknowledged. Although numerous intellectual property rights are created even now, the economic value exit is blocked. The economic value exchange of intellectual property rights must be activated to enable fair compensation. Negotiations and disputes between companies are indispensable as means to confirm and recognize the economic value of patents.

- Many view patent litigation between companies as a wasteful fight.

▲ Patent disputes are a legitimate fight to claim one’s territory in a capitalist market. I believe we should not view patent disputes between companies with a negative bias. Just as large corporations sometimes infringe on patents of SMEs, SMEs also sometimes infringe on patents of large corporations. Patents held by all companies must be protected. While exploiting the power imbalance to steal technology must be strictly punished, we should not have a negative prejudice against patent disputes themselves.

- Global patent disputes are increasing day by day.

▲ The value of U.S. patents is relatively high. While U.S. patents are mostly held by American companies, our companies should also secure U.S. patents among others. Going forward, U.S. patents will be an essential factor to consider when filing domestic patents. This can be interpreted as the market being large and thus patent value being high, but it is also important how well one can receive proper damages through court procedures when patent rights are infringed. For the value of Korean patents to rise, the effectiveness of remedial procedures must be ensured.

- What changes are needed in the domestic patent infringement litigation system?

▲ To activate patent litigation, changes are needed throughout the litigation system. The discovery system used in U.S. courts should be introduced in Korea as well. The discovery system is a pre-trial evidence disclosure procedure where both parties share evidence and clarify issues. Conducting trials without sufficient evidence disclosure makes it difficult to increase the reliability of judgments. Korea is a very important region as a supply chain for global companies and as a market, making it a significant venue for litigation strategy. Until now, there has been the burden of having to go to U.S. courts and submit evidence in English to secure evidence. However, if the discovery system is introduced domestically and more thorough litigation is possible in terms of evidence, domestic patent holders will find it easier to bring overseas companies into our home ground for litigation.