By Lee Min-hyung
LG Electronics has filed a lawsuit against German compressor manufacturer, Secob, calling for an Italian court to nullify the latter’s patents regarding technology for compressors, the Korean company said Sunday.
The lawsuit, filed in Italy’s Torino Court, claims that Secop’s two compressor patents in Europe should be nullified, as they are not the firm’s exclusive technology, according to LG Electronics.
The legal battle between the two companies erupted in July last year when the German compressor giant filed a patent infringement suit against LG Electronics. At that time, Secop urged the Korean firm to stop its sales of small-sized compressors used for refrigerators and water purifiers.
LG Electronics said it will also prove that it has never infringed on any Secop patents through the lawsuit.
“LG Electronics will maintain a hard-line stance on competitors’ absurd claims over patents, and continue to protect our intellectual property,” said Kim Kwang-ho, head of the compressor and motor (C&M) division at LG Electronics.
LG stressed that the two Secop patents are widely used within the industry, having little to do with the exclusive technology of the German company. For a similar reason, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected Secob’s patent applications twice in 2012 and this year, according to LG Electronics.
The lawsuit came as LG is pushing to expand its market share in the lucrative business-to-business (B2B) sector for which the firm focuses on components ― including compressors and motors.
At this year’s IFA tech fair, the company’s home and appliance (H&A) division unveiled its plan to generate half of its sales from the B2B sector, backed by its competency in manufacturing electronics components.
As of September, the company holds 2,700 compressors patents in Korea and an additional 526 patents in the United States. The company also has 121 compressor-related patents in Europe.
According to the company, more than 40 percent of LG’s compressor production goes for its clients, with the rest used for its own appliances.