The headquarter buildings of LG Chem Inc. (R) and SK Innovation Co. in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – LG Chem Ltd. said Friday it has filed additional lawsuits against local rival SK Innovation Co. in the United States over electric vehicle (EV) battery patents, upping the stakes of their month-long legal row.
LG Chem said it filed a pair of lawsuits with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) and the U.S. District Court of Delaware on Thursday, claiming that SK Innovation and its U.S. affiliate SK Battery America Inc. infringed on its patents in lithium-ion batteries.
The latest lawsuits are separate from what LG Chem brought to the U.S. authorities in April. Then, LG Chem accused SK Innovation of stealing trade secrets.
“We believe SK Innovation infringed on our five patents registered in the U.S.,” LG Chem said in a release.
Following LG Chem’s lawsuits in April, SK Innovation filed a countersuit with the USITC earlier this month, saying that LG Chem infringed on its EV battery patents.
SK Innovation also lodged a damage suit against LG Chem with a South Korean court in June, saying the latter’s suit is hurting its EV battery business.
Last week, South Korean police raided SK Innovation’s offices for its alleged theft of trade secrets from LG Chem.
To resolve the issue, the CEOs from the two sides held a meeting on Sept. 16, but failed to find common ground.
(Yonhap)
