Lee International

Recently, the rapid growth of the secondary battery market worldwide has led to a significant rise in technology theft within the industry.  In response, Korean secondary battery companies are gearing up for an impending global “patent war” by taking a strong stance against such theft.  In particular, the three major Korean secondary battery companies – LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK On – are exploring ways to aggressively leverage their acquired patent rights.  They are also establishing patent barriers through extensive patent filings to curb the market expansion of Chinese battery companies.

LG Energy Solution announced its intention to take strong action against patent free-riding by latecomers.  LG Energy Solution, which holds approximately 32,600 registered patents related to secondary batteries as of the first quarter of 2024, has identified about 1,000 “strategic patents” that are likely to be infringed upon by competitors.  Especially, LG Energy Solution plans to take assertive measures, including lawsuits and warnings, concerning approximately 580 patents that have been discovered to have been used without permission.

In addition, LG Energy Solution and Panasonic Energy recently appointed Tulip Innovation, a Hungarian patent management company (NPE), as their patent licensing agent.  Tulip Innovation launched a new patent licensing program last May based on its portfolio of over 5,000 patents from more than 1,500 patent families from LG Energy Solution and Panasonic Energy.

Meanwhile, SK On and Samsung SDI are concentrating on strengthening their patent barriers by increasing their filings for secondary battery-related patents.  To achieve this, SK On has made considerable efforts to secure new patents, increasing its intellectual property filings by 400 cases in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year (1,232 cases), reaching a total of 1,632 cases and securing 36 Chinese patents in May 2024 alone.  Similarly, SAMSUNG SDI recently hosted an “IP Fair” under the slogan “Patents are the Future” to boost patent awareness among its employees and promote more patent application filings.

Meanwhile, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) is moving rapidly to keep pace with these developments in Korea's secondary battery industry.  In June 2024, the KIPO established an “examination team dedicated to secondary batteries” comprising 83 examiners to expedite examination for applications related to secondary battery-related technologies.  With the launch of a dedicated examination team following the implementation of expedited examination procedures and the appointment of expert examiners, a comprehensive patent examination package for secondary battery applications has been completed, enabling rapid rights acquisition.

Given the recent moves by the three major Korean secondary battery companies and the KIPO, a global patent war in the secondary battery field appears imminent.  In preparation for this, both domestic and foreign companies in the secondary battery industry need to reassess their secondary battery patent portfolios, including expanding the quantity of their owned patents and securing core patents.