US judges have ruled that Belgian speciality materials group Umicore indirectly infringed two patents on lithium-ion battery components.
The lawsuit was brought by German chemicals firm BASF over the infringement of patents covering a lithium metal oxide cathode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
A trade judge with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled Umicore was liable for importing and selling battery components in the US that infringed patents held by the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory.
Although not directly infringing the patent, an ITC judge found Umicore had contributed to the infringement with respect to certain activities, including testing and evaluation, solely in the US.
The lawsuit was filed by BASF, which licenses the patents from Argonne, in February 2015.
Kurt Vandeputte, vice president of Umicore’s Rechargeable Battery Materials business unit, previously said: “We remain steadfast in our view that the scientific evidence presented in court precludes the possibility of any patent infringement and we very much intend on presenting our view to the Commission.”
A statement on Umicore’s website said: “Umicore has petitioned the US International Trade Commission to review an initial determination made by an administrative law judge on February 29, 2016, regarding Umicore’s alleged infringement of patents licensed by the German chemical company BASF.
“Umicore believes that fundamental scientific and legal elements require review, and when the Commissioners take these elements into consideration, no infringement of the patents will be found.”
The commission will now decide whether to review the judge’s ruling. A final decision in the case is expected in June. The case at the ITC is No. 337-951.
