Court Partially Upholds LS Cable & System's Patent Infringement Claim
Compensation Raised from 490 Million KRW to 1.5 Billion KRW in Second Trial
LS Cable & System: "Significant Ruling Recognizing Our Technology and Rights"
Daehan Cable: "Considering Appeal, No Infringement Occurred"
In the patent infringement lawsuit between LS Cable & System and Daehan Cable, two major players in South Korea's cable industry, LS Cable & System won partially in the second trial following its victory in the first trial.
The 24th Division of the Patent Court (Chief Judge Woo Seong-yeop) held a sentencing hearing at 2 p.m. on the 13th for the second trial of the patent infringement lawsuit filed by LS Cable & System against Daehan Cable, ruling that Daehan Cable must pay LS Cable & System 1.5 billion KRW in damages. This amount is nearly four times the 490 million KRW awarded in the first trial.
In 2019, LS Cable & System filed a lawsuit claiming that Daehan Cable infringed on its patented technology by manufacturing and using joint kits for bus ducts. A bus duct is a power distribution facility that delivers electrical energy within buildings. The joint kit is a component that connects bus ducts, and LS Cable & System's patent applies to some parts of this joint kit. Daehan Cable argued that it had been using the joint kit for several years and that many prior patents already existed in the US, Japan, and other countries, asserting that LS Cable & System's patent was merely a modification of prior inventions and thus did not constitute infringement.
However, in the first trial in 2022, the court accepted some of LS Cable & System's claims and ordered Daehan Cable to pay 490 million KRW, which is 12% of the 4 billion KRW in damages claimed by LS Cable & System. Both parties appealed: Daehan Cable on the grounds that it did not infringe the patent, and LS Cable & System arguing that the damages awarded were insufficient.
After the ruling, LS Cable & System stated, "We respect the court's decision and believe this ruling is an important recognition of LS Cable & System's technological capabilities and rights. We plan to continue to firmly and strictly respond to any acts of technology theft and infringement to protect the core technologies developed through decades of effort and dedication by our employees."
Daehan Cable said, "We have consistently argued that the patent registered by LS Cable & System is merely a freely implementable technology lacking inventiveness and novelty, as similar prior patents already exist in the US, Japan, and other countries, and that the problem-solving principles and effects of the two products are not identical, so it does not constitute patent infringement. We regret that these points were not recognized."
They added, "We believe there are issues with the court's judgment regarding the identity of the problem-solving principles and effects under patent law, as well as the calculation of damages. We will carefully review the judgment and decide whether to appeal."
"Since Daehan Cable has been using a redesigned joint kit for several years, we emphasize once again that the outcome of this ruling will have no impact whatsoever on our bus duct sales and business," they concluded.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
