Seoul court declares Dow’s key technology infringement suit has no legal basis


LG Chem said Thursday it won a patent suit battle against U.S.-based Dow Chemical Co. involving ethylene-based elastomers.

The country’s top chemical maker said that a Seoul court had ruled that the infringement lawsuit filed by Dow Chemical back in 2009 had no legal basis.

“The ruling indicates that LG Chem’s proprietary technology on the making of ethylene-based elastomer, which was developed over the past 10 years, has been acknowledged and this now enables LG to more actively conquer overseas markets,” said an LG Chem official.

Elastomers are rubber polymers used in shoes, noise insulation material of buildings and shock absorbers of car bumpers.

Dow Chemical filed a lawsuit against LG Chem at the Seoul Central District Court in December 2009, claiming that LG’s elastomers infringed on its own patents.

The global market for the polymers, which is estimated to be worth around $2 billion, is expected to grow to more than $3 billion by 2015, according to its company officials.

“The market is most likely going to get bigger as the demand is now shifting to high added-value and premium products,” said the official.

With the company currently recording an annual production capacity of 90,000 tons, the Korean firm plans to further expand its capacity as one of the four firms capable of manufacturing elastomers.

The other three are Dow Chemical, Mitsui Chemicals and ExxonMobil Chemicals.

Earlier in 1999, the chemical maker secured its own technology for a metallocene catalyst used to manufacture elastomers.

By securing the technology, LG Chem was able to produce elastomers beginning in 2008, starting its production at 60,000 tons. The company said it marked the beginning of using localized elastomers since it had been all imports before it was developed by LG Chem in Korea.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)