SK Innovation to File Early Appeal Against ITC Preliminary Loss Next Week

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Innovation, which received an early loss ruling (preliminary ruling) from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding the electric vehicle battery trade secret infringement lawsuit, is expected to file an objection as early as next week.

According to industry sources on the 28th, the ITC has confirmed that it delivered the supporting documents for the early loss ruling (preliminary ruling) on trade secret infringement to the legal advisory teams of SK Innovation and LG Chem. The materials provided by the ITC amount to approximately 140 pages and are reported to explain the grounds for the early loss ruling in detail with annotations.

Under ITC litigation procedures, an early loss ruling is equivalent to a preliminary ruling. Once an early loss is decided, the party can file an objection within two weeks. SK Innovation has requested an extension for the objection filing deadline. This is because the volume of materials provided by the ITC is extensive, and they believe a thorough internal legal review is necessary.

The grounds on which the ITC based its early loss ruling are summarized into two points: ▲evidence destruction and ▲violation of forensic orders (contempt of court). SK Innovation is expected to emphasize that it did not 'maliciously' violate the obligation of evidence preservation (litigation hold).

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