Yulchon represented POSCO in its patent litigation victory against NIPPON STEEL at the Patent Court
2015.01.29.
Yulchon represented POSCO in a patent invalidation litigation involving four patents against Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (the two merged corporations, hereafter referred to as "Nippon Steel"). POSCO and Nippon Steel are two of the largest steel producers in the world. Yulchon"s Intellectual Property Group helped POSCO secure favorable verdicts from the Korean Patent Court affirming the invalidation of three patents by the Korean Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (hereinafter "KIPTAB"). The fourth patent expired in October 2012.
The patents relate to grain-oriented electrical steel sheets, which are used in electrical transformers, including transformers utilized in hybrid or electric automobiles. Demand for these specialized steel products has been growing internationally, and these valuable products command a very high selling margin. In the past, Nippon Steel was the only international supplier of such grain-oriented electrical steel sheets. After POSCO started to produce and sell grain-oriented electrical steel sheets in the early 2000"s, Nippon Steel has seen a continuous decrease in its market share. In an attempt to maintain its competitive standing, Nippon Steel initiated lawsuits for patent infringement in multiple foreign jurisdictions.
In April 2013, POSCO responded by filing invalidation proceedings regarding the four Korean patents asserted in the infringement action. In February 17, 2014, the KIPTAB held all four Korean patents of Nippon Steel invalid. On February 25, 2014, Nippon Steel appealed to the Korean Patent Court, requesting cancellation of the KIPTAB decision. In view of the value of grain-oriented electrical steel sheets and the controversy involving two of the largest steel producers in the world, the developments in this lawsuit were carefully followed by the industry and the press.
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