2024-05-08 06:42:03
INTERVIEW LG Energy Solution Patent Center Director Lee Han-seon
《“LG Energy Solution is Battery research and development over the past 10 years Investing more than $4.5 billion Innovation and development in the battery industry I have led it. The efforts of these leading companies To be respected Strong response to ‘patent free riding’ Utilizing global patent pool, etc. battery licensing market “We will take the lead in getting it into full swing.” 》
On the 25th of last month, LG Energy Solutions announced that it would strongly respond to ‘patent free riding’ and begin building a battery patent licensing market. As a leading battery company that has led technological innovation and development in the global battery industry, it has decided to take the lead in creating a healthy battery industry ecosystem by correcting illegal patent infringements prevalent in the industry and leading the establishment of a legitimate patent licensing market.
Patent Center Director Lee Han-seon, who is leading LG Energy Solution’s patent strategy, said, “As latecomers continue to indiscriminately infringe on LG Energy Solution’s intellectual property rights (IP), everything from small batteries for information technology (IT) devices to electric “There are cases of unauthorized theft of LG Energy Solutions’ unique technology, even for car batteries,” he said. “For the healthy growth of the industry, we decided that it was necessary to correct the indiscriminate infringement of patents on leading technologies by latecomers, which had become a common practice.” .
In the meantime, LG Energy Solutions has made various efforts to protect its rights, such as filing lawsuits in response to patent infringement or trade secret theft against competitors at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) or German courts. However, as unfair infringement of intellectual property rights continues and even major automakers do not consider compliance with patent rights when selecting battery suppliers, market distortions are becoming more serious, so they have decided to take a stronger response.
Director Lee said, “LG Energy Solutions is an original innovator that has pioneered the battery market through continuous technology development since the early days of the industry,” and added, “We will maintain technological leadership and promote the mutual development of the industry through a fair transaction of patent rights.” “We will create a system and take strict action against cases of illegal infringement,” he said.
![[Tech&]“We will take the lead in developing the battery industry and providing differentiated customer value by establishing a legitimate patent licensing market.”](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/05/07/124828450.1.jpg "[Tech&]“We will take the lead in developing the battery industry and providing differentiated customer value by establishing a legitimate patent licensing market.”")
“There are also high concerns about patent infringement for next-generation battery technology, so strong response is necessary for the development of companies and industries.”
As a leading company in the battery industry, LG Energy Solutions has secured overwhelming technological capabilities. In 1992, we were the first domestic company to begin research on secondary batteries, and we have over 30 years of experience, and we are committed to producing products that customers demand through cooperation with numerous global automobile original equipment manufacturing (OEM) companies. This is because we have continued to invest in research and development (R&D). Director Lee said, “LG Energy Solutions has secured key patents in virtually all processes from A to Z of battery production, including materials, electrode design, and processes.” He added, “Currently, all over the world.” “We boast overwhelming technological prowess, holding over 32,000 registered patents and 58,000 applied patents, which is the most among battery companies,” he emphasized.
However, as the global battery market grows rapidly, competition between companies is intensifying, and cases of technology theft by latecomers are also rapidly increasing. In particular, unlike LG Energy Solutions, which has secured patents for key technologies as a pioneer in the industry, latecomer companies that have difficulty securing quality patents are expanding their market entry into Europe, China, India, and Southeast Asia through unauthorized use of patents. It’s a situation.
Center Director Lee said, “Among the patents held by LG Energy Solutions, the number of ‘strategic patents’ that competitors have infringed or are expected to infringe amounts to about 1,000,” adding, “Of these, only about 580 patents have been confirmed to have actually been infringed.” revealed.
LG Energy Solution’s technologies that are currently being infringed upon by competitors range from basic materials, processes, next-generation batteries, and BMS. Several technological infringements were discovered in the patented technology that enables the implementation of various electrode assemblies by increasing the electrode adhesion of the safety-enhanced separator, and Double Layer Slot Die Coating (DLD) technology, an innovative coating technology applied to cathodes for the first time in the world in 2018. There are also numerous infringement cases of electrode design patents that incorporate core process technologies such as carbon nanotube (CNT) pre-dispersion technology.
In addition, LG Energy Solutions has pioneered the development of electrolytes for high-voltage and high-efficiency batteries, high-capacity high-Ni NCM (nickel cobalt manganese) anodes, and mid-Ni NCM (NCM523, 622). Surface treatment method and NCM mixed with lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), lithium manganese oxide (LMO) electrode and silicon (Si) cathode were applied to batteries for the first time and are protected by patent. The risk of infringement is high.
Director Lee said, “There is a high risk of patent infringement not only for major patents currently actively used, but also for next-generation technologies,” adding, “Dry electrodes, which are evaluated as eco-friendly and cost-competitive technologies because they do not use organic solvents, and the next-generation cylindrical battery 46-series; “Safety diagnosis and BMS, developed from accumulated data, are expected to become essential technologies for the growth of the electric vehicle market in the future, and as patent infringement by competitors is expected to intensify, a strong response is urgently needed.”
“We will take the lead in establishing a global battery licensing market and create a healthy battery industry ecosystem.”
Director Lee emphasized that we must build a reasonable licensing market to respond to these illegal patent infringements and drive the development of the industry as an industry leader.
Director Lee said, “LG Energy Solutions, as a ‘rule setter’ that sets standards for the battery industry, will lead the establishment of a reasonable licensing market to protect its unique technology and create a fair competitive environment in the market,” adding, “To this end, we will establish a patent pool.” “We plan to utilize various monetization models, such as selling patent rights,” he said.
First, LG Energy Solutions plans to streamline licensing business and management by gradually licensing major patents through a global patent pool focusing on patents currently infringing on the market. Director Lee emphasized, “The patent licensing market has already been actively formed in major industries such as semiconductors and communications,” and added, “For corporate competitiveness and industrial development, a global licensing market centered on leading companies is needed.”
In fact, many leading companies in the industry are driving corporate growth through licensing. For example, the American semiconductor company Qualcomm receives trillions of won in licensing royalties every year by providing patent-based technology in addition to selling semiconductors. According to Qualcomm’s performance announcement data from last year, royalty sales over the past year (September 2022 to August 2023) were $5.792 billion, and the previous year (September 2021 to August 2022) was $7.029 billion. It hit $10,000.
Director Lee said, “LG Energy Solutions has invested $4.5 billion in R&D over the past 10 years, including using 20-30% of sales for battery development despite difficult circumstances in the early days.” He added, “The company is making such a huge investment to develop innovative new products.” “Respect for patents is essential to enable this to continue,” he said.
LG Energy Solutions plans to take strong action, including filing a lawsuit to prohibit patent infringement, if indiscriminate infringement of technology continues without a proper license agreement. To this end, we plan to actively secure local experts in major markets such as the United States, Europe, and China to strengthen our global litigation capabilities and expand overseas IP offices that manage intellectual property rights to systematically manage and supervise global intellectual property rights.
Director Lee said, “In order to advance the battery industry, a virtuous cycle structure must be created where leading companies receive reasonable royalties for patent rights and expand investments in technology development, and latecomers increase the competitiveness of their products through legitimate use of patent rights.” “As a leading company in the battery industry, we will take the lead in establishing a reasonable licensing market and lead the development of the industry by actively promoting the development of future core technologies,” he emphasized.
2024-05-08 06:42:03