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| (Source: LG) |
LG Uplus has prevailed in invalidating a Frontier IP patent covering smartphone-based control of digital devices, after South Korea's intellectual property tribunal found the invention obvious over prior art.
On June 12, 2025, the Korean Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board sided with LG Uplus and held Frontier's patent — Korean Patent No. 1037397, "Digital Device Controlling System by Utilizing Smartphone" — invalid. The tribunal determined that the claimed invention lacked inventive step in light of three prior art references.
Frontier challenged the ruling at the Patent Court of Korea in July 2025, filing a cancellation action, but the court dismissed the complaint the following month.
The patent, originally registered in 2011 and later acquired by Frontier in 2019 from Necon, describes a system in which a smartphone connects via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to a central controller. The controller uses infrared LEDs to communicate with multiple digital devices, enabling users to operate them remotely through a single mobile interface.
Although the patent expired in 2022 due to nonpayment of renewal fees, patentees may still seek damages for past infringement that occurred while the patent was in force, leaving expired rights enforceable in certain disputes.
By PatenTrip
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