US ITC postpones final ruling on LG and SK battery lawsuit

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recently announced that the final ruling on the battery patent lawsuit between LG Chem (hereinafter referred to as "LG") and SK Innovation (hereinafter referred to as "SK") has been postponed from the original October 5 to October 26.

The ITC did not explain the reason for the delay in the final ruling, but industry analysts believe that it was greatly affected by the epidemic. Due to the epidemic, other ongoing lawsuits at the ITC have been delayed for a month or more.

It is reported that the patent dispute between the two companies has a long history. LG filed a lawsuit with the ITC and the US court, accusing SK of systematically and organizedly stealing trade secrets by hiring its former engineers. ICT made a default judgment against SK on February 14, 2020. If the decision remains unchanged, SK will be prohibited from exporting batteries, modules, packaging, and related parts and materials to the United States. In addition, ICT announced on April 17, 2020 that it accepted SK's request for a review of the lawsuit with LG and will make a final ruling on October 5 this year.

Industry insiders previously believed that LG, which won a favorable ruling from the ITC, was increasing pressure on SK to reach an agreement as soon as possible. It is reported that the two companies have a big difference in the settlement funds, and the amount involved may range from 500 billion won to trillions of won.

Yonhap News Agency reported that there are various speculations on whether the delay in the final ruling will affect the final result of the ITC. Korean media analyzed that there may be three possible scenarios for the final ruling of the ITC.

The first possibility is to maintain the default judgment against SK. The second possibility is to further review whether the judgment against SK is in the public interest of the United States on the basis of keeping the initial judgment unchanged. SK is building a battery factory in Georgia, USA. If the ITC holds a hearing and most people believe that SK's continued battery business in the United States is in the interests of the United States and its companies, then SK has the possibility of operating a battery factory in the United States. The third possibility is to issue a retrial order for the February judgment.

However, industry insiders pointed out that no matter what the outcome of the ITC is, if the two companies repeatedly appeal, the litigation is likely to be extended to 3 to 4 years or longer.