LG Energy Solution has said a surge in patent infringement and market distortion caused by unlicensed use of its patented tech calls for “strong countermeasures.”
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The company says it is seeing a ‘rising tide’ of battery industry latecomers’ ‘deliberate’ and ‘blatant’ unauthorised use of its patents – dubbed patent ‘free riders’ – across a range of commercialised products, including batteries for consumer electronics, energy storage systems (ESS), and electric vehicles (EV).
It says these latecomers are trying to enter major markets such as Europe, China, and India through ‘free riding’, as they have not been diligent in obtaining patents of their own.
LG Energy Solution intends to lead the establishment of a fair battery patent licensing market by utilising various patent monetisation models such as patent pooling or sales.
David Kim, CEO of LG Energy Solution said: “Respecting intellectual property rights is essential for fostering fair competition in the global market. To ensure the advancement of the overall industry and the company, we will protect our intellectual properties and take bold countermeasures on patent infringements.”
Previous significant measures to protect its intellectual property (IP), have included filing successful trade secret misappropriation and patent infringement lawsuits against its competitors with the United States International Trade Commission, German courts, and others.
LG Energy Solution has already secured patent protection for core technologies across all areas of the battery industry, including battery materials, manufacturing, battery pack and battery management systems (BMS).
From the first-generation technologies that are already commercialised for mass-production to cutting-edge third-generation technologies, the company has filed more than 58,000 patent applications worldwide, and secured more than 30,000 issued patents.
