Wizley and Doruko's Patent Infringement Lawsuit 'De Facto Victory'

Wiseley has effectively won the patent infringement lawsuit filed by Dorco. On the 9th, Wiseley announced that Dorco submitted a withdrawal of the patent infringement case it had filed at the Seoul Central District Court. The first hearing of the patent infringement injunction lawsuit initially filed by Dorco was scheduled for March, but before that, the patent itself was declared invalid.

This lawsuit began in October 2020 when Dorco filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Wiseley regarding razor blades. Dorco held a patent for geometrically bending razor blades to increase stiffness and enable efficient shaving, claiming that the products distributed by Wiseley infringed on this patent.

Wiseley countered Dorco's patent infringement injunction lawsuit by requesting the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to invalidate Dorco's geometric razor blade structure patent itself. They judged that invalidating the patent was the fastest solution when a patent infringement injunction lawsuit is filed. Wiseley argued that the geometric razor blade was not Dorco’s exclusive patent but a natural shape formed when a razor blade is bent. They claimed that Dorco’s patent was invalid in itself and that the allegation of Wiseley infringing Dorco’s patent was unfounded.

In August 2021, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruled in favor of Wiseley, finding that Dorco’s razor blade patent lacked novelty. The Board stated, "When a thin metal plate is bent, it is recognized as a natural physical phenomenon that the front part protrudes and the back part forms a concave shape." Dorco appealed, but the Patent Court, which took over the case, also ruled in favor of Wiseley in October last year, finding no advancement in Dorco’s razor blade patent compared to previous products. Dorco gave up on further appeals, and the invalidation of the razor blade patent was finalized. Additionally, during the patent invalidation lawsuit process, Dorco attempted to amend the patent through a patent correction trial, but this was also dismissed.

Jeon Young-pyo, Vice President of Wiseley, said, "Through this victory, we can smoothly continue Wiseley’s business vision of providing premium quality daily necessities at ultra-low prices to customers," adding, "We will continue efforts to bring positive changes to the existing consumer goods market order by selling the best products at ultra-low prices."

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