LG sues TCL in Germany over LTE patents
LG Electronics has filed patent infringement lawsuits against Chinese electronics company TCL in two German district courts.
In an announcement earlier today, November 11, LG said it had taken action against TCL in Mannheim and Düsseldorf for allegedly infringing three patents covering long-term evolution (LTE) technology.
“TCL knowingly implemented technologies in its handsets that infringe three of LG’s standard essential patents that cover key areas of LTE handsets: minimising the loss of packet transmission, control timers for uplink synchronisation and interference reduction in the uplink synchronising process,” LG alleged.
LG said the lawsuits were a last resort after it had made “numerous attempts” to resolve the dispute with TCL.
Jeon Saeng-gyu, executive vice president of LG’s IP Centre, said LG has a “responsibility to ensure that competition in the industry takes place fairly and legally”.
“LG has long invested heavily in LTE innovation and when it becomes necessary, we take action to protect these important assets.
“These lawsuits are aimed at protecting our investments and challenging the unlawful use of our vital assets and to safeguard the competitiveness of the industry for future innovation.”
Earlier this month LG sued another Chinese competitor, Hisense, for patent infringement in the US, as reported by WIPR.
The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California on November 4, alleged that a number of Hisense’s smart televisions infringe four of LG’s patents.
The patents cover a range of technology including light-emitting diode (LED) light assembly, user interface and image sharpening technology.
LG said it had attempted to license the technology to Hisense under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, but the parties had failed to reach an agreement.
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