LS Cable & System Co. has gained the upper hand in its years-long patent dispute against Taihan Electric Wire Co. after a South Korean high patent court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling in LS Cable’s favor.
The appellate court ordered Taihan Electric to pay 1.5 billion won ($1.0 million) in compensation to LS Cable, tripling the 490 million won the lower court awarded in September 2022.
In August 2019, LS Cable filed a patent infringement complaint against Taihan Electric, alleging that the latter’s joint kit, used to connect bus ducts, infringed its patent rights.
Bus ducts enables the distribution of electricity across large-scale installations.
But Taihan Electric argued that the joint kit it has been using for several years is a modified design and has not directly impacted LS Cable’s business.
If the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling in favor of LS Cable, their patent fight will likely escalate into a billion-dollar lawsuit involving the design of LS Cable’s advanced submarine cable manufacturing factory.
South Korean police are now investigating the allegations that LS Cable’s factory design for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables was leaked to Taihan Electric.
LS Cable is said to have spent about 1 trillion won in developing the factory design.
HVDC cables are critical components of smart grids and offshore power plants. Globally, only six companies, including LS Cable, produce them.
However, Taihan Electric flatly denied the allegations, saying it has developed its own competitive submarine cable manufacturing technology and has no reason at all to steal LS Cable’s technology.
By Jeong-Soo Hwang, Chae-Yeon Kim and Cheol-Oh Jo
hjs@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.
