Solus Advanced Materials Files Rebuttal in US Patent Lawsuit: "No Trade Secret Misappropriation"

Solus Advanced Materials Submits Rebuttal to SK Nexilis's Amended Complaint Request
Argues Trade Secret Claims Lack Legal Basis and Are Unrelated to Ongoing Patent Lawsuit

On September 1, Solus Advanced Materials announced that it had submitted a rebuttal to the Eastern District Court of Texas regarding SK Nexilis’s second request to amend its complaint in the ongoing patent infringement lawsuit in the United States.

Solus Advanced Materials Copper Foil Photo. Solus Advanced Materials

Earlier, in early August, SK Nexilis had requested to amend its complaint in the ongoing patent infringement lawsuit at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to add claims of liability under the U.S. Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (TUTSA). The request sought to have these issues additionally reviewed as part of the current proceedings.

In response, Solus Advanced Materials argued to the court that these matters are separate from the patent infringement lawsuit, are unrelated to the ongoing litigation, lack clear legal grounds and validity, and that it did not misappropriate any trade secrets. A representative from Solus Advanced Materials stated, "The copper foil manufacturing processes, such as additive recipes, have been widely used even before SK Nexilis entered the market," adding, "Most of the technologies in question were independently developed and utilized by our European subsidiary, Circuit Foil Luxembourg (CFL), which was established in the 1960s. These technologies were already patented in the 1990s, so SK Nexilis's claims are not factual."

The amended complaint submitted by SK Nexilis requires court approval to be accepted. Solus Advanced Materials argued that, for the reasons above, the court should not accept the opposing party's claims. The court has not yet issued a decision.

Previously, SK Nexilis had requested that the court prohibit Solus Advanced Materials from using prior products from CFL as evidence to invalidate SK Nexilis’s patents in this lawsuit. However, the U.S. court rejected this request and allowed Solus Advanced Materials to submit such evidence.

Meanwhile, Solus Advanced Materials has also filed a total of eight patent infringement lawsuits against SK Nexilis in Korea. Four of these cases were ruled invalid on August 28, and hearings are scheduled to begin for the remaining four cases.

A representative from Solus Advanced Materials commented, "We maintain our position that the opposing party's patents merely cover parameters that have long existed in copper foil products manufactured by our subsidiaries and across the industry, and are therefore invalid," adding, "We plan to actively respond to the lawsuits in the United States and Europe with strong evidence, including various prior art documents and prior products we have secured."

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