For Infringing Patented Refrigerator Technology
LG Electronics announced on Sept. 25 that it has filed lawsuits with a German court against three European consumer electronics companies for infringing its refrigerator patents.
The three companies that LG Electronics took to court are Arcelik, Beko and Grundig, which are all affiliated with the Turkish Koç Holding Group and sell home appliances in the European and Turkish markets.
LG claims that the three companies have infringed its patented ice-making technology used for two-door refrigerators. The technology in question allows all the ice-making components, including an ice machine, ice bin, and ice-moving motor, to be put in the door of the refrigerator rather than inside of it. In other double-door fridges, ice-making devices are located inside the freezer compartment, taking up a considerable space and making it difficult to utilize the freezer space efficiently. With respect to this technology, LG Electronics has about 400 patents registered globally.
LG Electronics signed a license agreement in June with GE Appliances, allowing it to use this technology for its water-purifying refrigerators with an ice making function, one of its premium models.