LG Energy Solution has filed a lawsuit in the United States against Chinese company EVE Energy and has taken steps to protect its cylindrical battery patents.
Tulip Innovation, a patent management company for LG Energy Solution, announced on the 22nd (local time) that it has filed for import exclusion with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. Texas District Court against EVE Energy and related companies.
The lawsuit targets a total of five patents, including four cylindrical battery-related patents, including tapless technology, and one related to separators. Batteries utilizing this technology are reportedly distributed primarily in the U.S. power tool market.
EVE Energy, founded in 2001, is a Chinese lithium-ion battery company. It is ranked in the top 8 globally in the electric vehicle battery market and is considered a major supplier in the cylindrical battery sector used in small devices such as power tools.
Since successfully mass-producing cylindrical lithium-ion batteries in Korea in 1998, LG Energy Solution has developed 18650, 2170 standard products, and next-generation 46 series battery-related technologies. This lawsuit is significant as it expands the company's patent enforcement scope from pouch and prismatic batteries to cylindrical batteries.
LG Energy Solution has not only included EVE Energy but also customers who import and sell power tools to the U.S. from EVE Energy in the ITC lawsuit. This strategy aims to block the distribution of patent-infringing products in the U.S. market by pressuring both battery manufacturers and demand companies.
If ITC recognizes patent infringement, it can issue import exclusion orders to block the import of such products into the U.S. and sales prohibition orders to prevent their sale and distribution within the country.
LG Energy Solution has been continuing patent lawsuits against Chinese battery companies in Europe. Last year, in Germany, it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against CATL, leading to a ban on the sale of the batteries, product recall and disposal, and compensation for damages.
Gustino de Santis, CEO of Tulip Innovation, stated, "We have filed a lawsuit with the ITC requesting the prohibition of importing battery products that infringe on patents in close cooperation with LG Energy Solution," and "This is to address the proliferation of unauthorized lithium-ion battery products in the industry and maintain a fair competitive environment."