Coway Overturned in Second Trial of Ice Water Purifier Patent Infringement Lawsuit... Cheongho Nice "Will Appeal"

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Coway has overturned the first-instance ruling after 7 years and won the appeal in the patent infringement lawsuit regarding ice water purifiers against Cheongho Nice.

According to the rental industry on the 15th, the 4th Civil Division of the Seoul High Court ruled against Cheongho Nice in the appeal trial filed by Cheongho Nice against Coway for patent infringement injunction and damages the day before.

In 2014, Cheongho Nice filed a lawsuit for injunction and damages, claiming that Coway infringed on the patent technology of the ice water purifier. Subsequently, in the first-instance ruling in 2015, the Seoul Central District Court sided with Cheongho Nice and ordered Coway to pay 10 billion KRW in damages. At that time, Coway appealed the decision.

After a long litigation process, the Seoul High Court overturned the first-instance ruling in this appeal trial, stating that Coway's product did not infringe Cheongho Nice's patent rights, thereby canceling the defendant's loss in the first-instance ruling and dismissing the plaintiff's claim.

The court recognized that the core of Cheongho Nice's patent was making cold water in advance and then using it as the source water for ice making. However, since Coway's product does not make cold water in advance, the core of Cheongho Nice's patent was not implemented, and therefore it was judged not to constitute patent infringement.

Coway said, "This was a long-term lawsuit that lasted for 8 years, and we are pleased to have our ice water purifier product's technological uniqueness recognized through this appeal victory," adding, "Coway will continue to firmly respond to unfounded patent infringement claims and strive to protect the differentiated proprietary technology rights secured through our technological innovation."

Regarding this lawsuit, Cheongho Nice stated its intention to seek a final judgment through an appeal to the Supreme Court. A Cheongho Nice official said, "We regret the High Court's ruling and will carefully analyze the judgment to do our best to have the Supreme Court recognize the parts where Coway infringed on our ice water purifier patent."

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