SEOUL, Nov. 11, 2019 — LG Electronics (LG) this week filed lawsuits against TCL, a Chinese handset manufacturer, in the German district courts of Mannheim and Düsseldorf, for infringing its LTE technology patents.
The lawsuits allege that TCL knowingly implemented technologies in its handsets that infringe three of LG’s standard essential patents that cover key areas of LTE handsets: minimizing the loss of packet transmission, control timers for uplink synchronization and interference reduction in the uplink synchronizing process.
The suits against TCL were filed only after numerous attempts were made by LG to remedy its concerns, to no avail. LG has successfully asserted its extensive LTE patent portfolio on a number of occasions in the courts by legally challenging the unlawful use of its technologies. As a result of recent legal action, BLU agreed to a licensing deal with LG and a German trial court ruled in favor of LG in three separate litigations against Wiko.
Aggressive investment in research and development has resulted in LG becoming a global technological leader in the mobile communication market, possessing one of the largest portfolios of standard essential patents. According to TechIPm, a professional IP research and consulting firm, LG ranked first in 4G (LTE/LTE-A) patents every year from 2012 to 2016. Germany-based market intelligence company IPLytics lists LG as the owner of 11 percent of all 5G standard essential patents issued to date.
“LG has long invested heavily in LTE innovation and when it becomes necessary, we take action to protect these important assets,” said Jeon Saeng-gyu, executive vice president of LG’s Intellectual Property Center. “As a leader in LTE technology, we have a responsibility to ensure that competition in the industry takes place fairly and legally. These lawsuits are aimed at protecting our investments and challenging the unlawful use of our vital assets and to safeguard the competitiveness of the industry for future innovation.”
