LG Energy Solution is escalating its patent enforcement campaign by filing a patent infringement complaint against Chinese battery maker EVE Energy with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). The move broadens the company’s intellectual property disputes beyond pouch and prismatic batteries to include cylindrical battery technologies.
According to Tulip Innovation, LG Energy Solution’s patent management company, the battery maker filed an import ban complaint with the ITC and a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against EVE Energy and related parties on July 22.
Founded in 2001, EVE Energy is a global lithium-ion battery manufacturer that actively sells cylindrical batteries for products such as power tools in the U.S. market.
The litigation is significant because it expands LG Energy Solution’s patent enforcement efforts from pouch and prismatic battery technologies to cylindrical battery technologies.
The lawsuits involve five patents, including four related to cylindrical batteries—covering technologies such as tabless battery designs—and one separator patent. LG Energy Solution alleges that these patented technologies are widely used in cylindrical batteries sold in the U.S. power tool market and that its intellectual property rights have been infringed.
Since becoming South Korea’s first company to mass-produce cylindrical lithium-ion batteries in 1998, LG Energy Solution has built an extensive patent portfolio covering 18650 and 2170 battery formats, as well as its next-generation 46-series cylindrical batteries.
In addition to targeting EVE Energy, LG Energy Solution plans to expand its ITC action to include U.S. power tool manufacturers that import battery cells supplied by EVE Energy.
If LG Energy Solution prevails at the ITC, the agency could issue an Exclusion Order barring the products from entering the United States, along with a Cease and Desist Order prohibiting their sale and distribution in the U.S.
The company has also pursued patent litigation against Chinese battery manufacturers in Europe. Last year, a German court ruled in favor of LG Energy Solution in a patent infringement case against Chinese lithium-ion battery maker Sunwoda involving its electrode assembly structure and SRS coating technologies, ordering sales bans, product recalls and destruction, and damages.
Following that litigation, LG Energy Solution signed a licensing agreement with Sunwoda in June, effectively bringing the patent dispute to a close.
Giustino de Sanctis, chief executive officer of Tulip Innovation, said, “Tulip worked closely with LG Energy Solution to file this complaint with the ITC seeking to block the importation of infringing battery products. This enforcement action demonstrates our commitment to addressing the growing problem of unauthorized lithium-ion battery products across multiple industries while maintaining a fair competitive environment.”