Targeting LG Electronics
LG Electronics has become a target of Canada-based non-practicing entity (NPE) WiLan this time, following Unilock’s filing eight patent infringement lawsuits against the Korean electronics company last year. WiLan is expected to demand several hundred billions of won in compensation for damages by targeting most of LG Electronics’ long-term evolution (LTE) handsets including the strategic smartphone G7 ThinQ.
According to the industry on July 24, WiLan filed a patent infringement lawsuit against LG Electronics in the Southern District Court of California on July 11 (local time). WiLan is an NPE company that makes license agreements with manufacturing companies or conducts patent infringement litigation based on patents on wireless telecommunications, TVs, and networks. Currently, the NPE has licenses with more than 290 companies including Samsung Electronics and Nokia. Since 2010, LGE has filed several lawsuits against LG Electronics over some LG TV models’ infringement of patents.
WiLan is claiming that LG Electronics violated four patents on technology that can transmit and receive wireless data at a high speed via LTE mobile devices. With respect to the claim, LG Electronics said that the company would respond firmly to unfair demands during the patent infringement lawsuit.
Experts say that WiLan's lawsuit was filed as LG Electronics has vowed to expand its market share in North America with the launch of its strategic smartphone G7 ThinQ. As the global influence of LG Electronics grows in the industry, NPEs such as WiLan will launch attacks on LG Electronics more persistently according to the experts. Last year LG Electronics faced patent infringement lawsuits from Global NPEs such as UniLock, Ironworks Patents and Pen-One Acquisition Group regarding the IoT platform Smart ThinQ among others.