Prepare for loss of power! LG Chem (LG), the top battery supplier for the highly anticipated Ford EV F-150 electric pickup trucks and Volkswagen VW ID.4 EV has filed federal lawsuits against competitor SK Innovation (SKI) alleging theft of trade secrets (Not sure what a “trade secret is? Jump down to the last paragraph!). Both companies are based in South Korea, with SKI locked into a contract to sell batteries to both Ford and VW.
LG asserts SKI “accessed trade secrets” by way of hiring 77 employees, including engineers involved in research and development, manufacturing and assembly, and quality assurance testing from the division in LG that “developed the world’s first commercial pouch-type Li-ion battery for automobiles.”
LG claims to have proof of employees working together with SKI to steal information and technology and seeks injunctive relief to stop SKI from importing their battery cells into the United States. In South Korea, LG filed a suit against SKI and won the case, with the International Trade Commission ruling that SKI may not sell batteries in the U.S., but allowing the SKI batteries to be imported for the next four years for Ford EV F-150 and the Volkswagen electric line for the next two years, as to not conflict with the preexisting contracts SKI has with the two automobile makers. Ford has graciously accepted the four-year stipulation and hopes to bring to market the fully-electric version of the F-150 by 2022.
WHAT IS A TRADE SECRET EXACTLY? Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property, that is not patented, but is information that is not generally known to the public, confers economic benefit to the holder because this information isn’t public, and where the holder makes reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy. To be a trade secret, a company or individual must make a reasonable effort in concealing the information from the public. It can be a proprietary process, instrument, pattern, design, formula, recipe, method or practice. The secret formula for Coca-Cola is locked in a vault and is a great example of a trade secret!
Article by Carissa Chow