US ITC Recognizes SK and LGES Infringed 22 Trade Secrets

SK Innovation Loses: Final Brief Released
"Without Trade Secret Infringement, Product Development Would Have Taken 10 Years"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] On the 5th, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced in its final opinion on the trade secret infringement case between LG Energy Solution (LGES) and SK Innovation (SK Inno) that SK Inno infringed on 22 of LGES's trade secrets. The ITC also stated that it would take SK Inno 10 years to independently develop electric vehicle batteries without infringing trade secrets and decided on a 10-year import ban.

In the final opinion, the ITC stated, "We find that SK Innovation (SK Inno) violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act regarding the 22 trade secrets submitted on October 7, 2019," and added, "The import ban order and the cease and desist order for trade secret infringement are appropriate remedies, and tailored orders (such as import exemptions) do not negatively affect the public interest factors in the court." Section 337 of the U.S. Tariff Act is a sanction provision that deals with unfair competition and unfair acts in trade, such as intellectual property infringement.

The ITC explained, "We uphold the early adverse ruling against SK Inno and enforce the import ban order and the cease and desist order for trade secret infringement," and "The ITC found SK Inno's evidence destruction to be at an extraordinary level."

Furthermore, it added, "The ITC confirmed the violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act," and "With some adjustments, a 10-year import ban order and cease and desist order for trade secret infringement are appropriate remedies."

The ITC stated, "We confirm the preliminary finding that the corporate culture of data collection and destruction was widespread, well-known, and tolerated at SK Inno," and "Based on the investigation record, SK Inno deliberately and maliciously engaged in document deletion, excused it as a regular practice, and blatantly attempted to conceal document destruction."

SK argued for a one-year import ban period, while the Office of Unfair Import Investigations (OUII) under the ITC proposed a minimum of five years. However, the ITC recognized LG's claim that "SK started off favorably with a 10-year period due to trade secret infringement."

The ITC pointed out, "SK would not have been able to develop the relevant information within 10 years without infringing LG's trade secrets," and "SK did not have the personnel or capability to develop the infringed technology within 10 years."

Meanwhile, regarding the four-year and two-year import ban exemptions granted to Ford and Volkswagen respectively, the ITC explained that this was "to provide time for switching to other battery suppliers who did not infringe LG's trade secrets."

The ITC also criticized Ford and other major automakers who chose to continue building future business relationships with SK despite SK's trade secret infringement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.