TMS Secures Partial Invalidation of Claims in Three Mitsubishi Chemical Patents; Mitsubishi Chemical Appeals
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| (Source: Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) |
South Korean company TMS has successfully invalidated several claims from three Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) patents related to Optical Clear Adhesive Sheets (OCA). The ruling comes after Mitsubishi Chemical initiated a patent infringement lawsuit against TMS, prompting TMS to counter with a patent invalidation request. Some claims of the Mitsubishi Chemical patents were subsequently declared invalid. Mitsubishi Chemical has since filed an appeal against this decision in the Patent Court of Korea.
Back in December 2021, Mitsubishi Chemical filed a patent infringement lawsuit against TMS with the Seoul Central District Court, alleging that TMS had infringed on three of its patents related to OCA sheets used in bonding materials for smartphones and tablets.
The three disputed patents, all titled "Transparent Double-Sided Adhesive Sheet for Image Display Device and Image Display Device Using Same," are registered in South Korea under patent numbers 1773756, 1975353, and 2233056. Mitsubishi Chemical claims the technology in these patents enables OCA to be UV-cured after bonding to a surface.
Mitsubishi Chemical identified TMS's OCA products, including the TM-QN series, TTC series, and T5 series, as infringing products, seeking damages and an injunction to prevent further infringement.
Mitsubishi Chemical has emphasized that its OCA products have been "widely supported and evaluated by panel manufacturers as the industry's first post-UV-cured OCA, obtained by improving customer yield through the realization of excellent difference absorption, cutting processability, and foam resistance."
In response, TMS filed invalidation proceedings against the three disputed patents in February 2022. In April 2023, the Korean Patent Tribunal ruled in favor of TMS, declaring some claims of the patents invalid while allowing certain amendments. Specifically, claim 1 and claim 3 of the 1773756 patent, claim 1 of the 1975353 patent, and claim 1 of the 2233056 patent were invalidated.
Mitsubishi Chemical responded by filing an appeal with the Patent Court in June 2023, contesting the tribunal's decision. A hearing for the appeal has been scheduled for December 2024. In addition, Mitsubishi Chemical submitted a request for amendments to the three patents in August 2023.
In its audit report, TMS stated, "We are involved in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Mitsubishi Chemical over our UV-cured optical adhesive products in the TM-QN, TTC, and T5 series, and are also engaged in invalidation disputes."
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| (Source:USPTO) |
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