LG Electronics wins patent dispute with Whirlpool

SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. said Monday that it
has won a patent dispute with U.S. appliance maker Whirlpool Corp., ending years
of conflict that threatened the suspension of sales of related LG products in the
American market.

On Friday (local time), the International Trade Commission made its final ruling
that LG Electronics did not infringe upon patent rights held by Whirlpool in
producing its refrigerator products, South Korea's No. 2 electronics manufacturer
said in a press release.
The ruling comes after Whirlpool filed complaints with the U.S. trade agency in
January 2008, claiming that LG violated its patented technologies in a total of
five cases. Of them, Whirlpool voluntarily dropped two cases, with two others
having been dropped through a bilateral agreement.
In February, the trade agency said that LG did not use Whirlpool's technologies,
clearing the Korean company of the remaining allegation. It later decided to
review its ruling in an unusual move that some market observers view as being
politically-motivated amid an atmosphere of protectionism prompted by the global
economic slowdown.
With the latest ITC ruling, LG said that it is now free from the protracted
patent dispute with the U.S. company, avoiding what could have led to a sales
suspension of some of its products in the American market.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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