South Korean firm LG Innotek filed patent infringement lawsuits in the United States against a manufacturer and seller of UV nail dryers. On July 25th, LG Innotek patent infringement lawsuits against several manufacturers and sellers including Evergreat Inc. and its affiliated companies in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The patent lawsuits allege that Evergreat and its affiliates violated LG Innotek’s UV LED patents. This legal action is the first time LG Innotek filed a patent lawsuit asserting its UV LED patents.
The UV LED-powered nail dryer is a tool for quickly drying fingernails and toenails after applying a nail polish. The device utilizes ultraviolet rays that chemically react with specific materials. In this application, UV LEDs are widely used as a light source due to their superior performance and safety. LG Innotek’s lawsuits allege that Evergreat used LG Innotek’s LED chip technology patents in all of its 10 UV nail dryer models. The company asked the court to prohibit the sale of these products and award damages.
LG Innotek says it first sent warning letters to Evergreat beginning in January. The letters demanded that Evergreat stop unauthorized use of the patents. However, Evergreat did not respond to the request. Hence, LG Innotek filed the lawsuits.
LG Innotek says it intends to strengthen enforcement of its UV LED patents and rigorously defend against the unauthorized use of the patented technologies. The company also noted that because its UV LED technology is ahead of the global UV LED market, competitors may imitate its core technologies.
Kim Jin-hyun, a vice president of the intellectual property division of the company, said, “We have been developing our core UV LED technologies through continuous investment and R&D for many years.” He also said, “We will strictly deal with unfair patent infringement by our competitors.”
