Government Investigates Chinese Companies Including LG Chem for Cathode Material Patent Infringement Allegations

The government has accepted LG Chem's request and decided to investigate whether Chinese-made cathode materials infringe on patent technology.

On the 11th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the 444th Trade Commission meeting at the Government Complex Sejong and announced that it would investigate whether the Chinese-made 'NCM811 (nickel-cobalt-manganese ratio 8:1:1) cathode material' infringes LG Chem's patent rights.

Earlier, LG Chem requested an investigation into patent infringement targeting three Chinese companies manufacturing cathode materials in China and supplying them domestically, as well as one domestic company importing these materials. NCM811 cathode material is attracting attention as a cathode material for electric vehicle batteries because it improves battery capacity by having a nickel content of over 80% and can replace expensive cobalt.

LG Chem claims that these companies produced cathode materials using its technology without authorization.

The Trade Commission will also investigate whether Chinese-made secondary batteries embedded in smartphones infringe patent rights. The investigation into 'secondary batteries for smartphones' follows a request from the Semiconductor Energy Laboratory targeting one Chinese company manufacturing smartphones in China and supplying them domestically, and one domestic company importing and selling them.

On the same day, the Trade Commission also initiated a dumping investigation into Chinese-made polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin. PET resin is used as a material in various fields such as PET bottles for mineral water and beverages, food containers, and optical films. Earlier, TK Chemical claimed that industrial damage occurred due to the dumping import of Chinese-made PET resin and applied to the Trade Commission in November last year for an investigation necessary to impose anti-dumping duties.

The Trade Commission plans to determine whether there is patent infringement (2 cases) and dumping (1 case) through written investigations, on-site investigations, and other procedures. The final decision is expected to take about 6 to 10 months.