U.S. NPEs File 90 Suits Against Korean Firms in 2019
American patent trolls initiated a large number of patent lawsuits against South Korean companies last year. They tried to keep major IT companies in check by filing suits against Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and other companies.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced on May 11 that American non-practicing entities (NPEs) filed 90 lawsuits against South Korean companies last year, when the companies faced a total of 127 lawsuits in the United States.
Most of such lawsuits have been in the IT industry. Specifically, 43 NPEs filed 212 lawsuits against Samsung Electronics and 227 lawsuits against LG Electronics from January 2012 to June last year. In addition, Hyundai Motor Group faced a total of 66 lawsuits in the United States during the same period.
“The overall number of patent lawsuits in the United States has decreased since 2015,” the KIPO explained, adding, “The number of lawsuits between South Korean and U.S. enterprises decreased last year after having increased since 2015.”
Under the circumstances, the KIPO is planning to look into NPEs in the United States, analyze their current status and list those more closely related to South Korean enterprises. The list will be used for continuous monitoring so that the enterprises can be better protected.