American patent trolls target S.Korean companies

Over 80% of American companies that sued South Korean companies for patent infringement last year were non-practicing entities (NPE), or “patent trolls.” 

An NPE conducts no production activity and instead earns profits through lawsuits.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office on Wednesday said that among 149 patent lawsuits filed by US companies against South Korean ones last year, 126 or 84.6% were from NPEs, up from 69.4% in 2020.  Of the 126, 90.5% or 114 were aimed at corporations, mainly Samsung Electronics. 

The number of such complaints against domestic small and medium businesses also doubled last year from six to 12.

Four of the five American companies filing the most complaints were NPEs, led by  Daedalus Prime LLC with 10.  Founded in 2021 and owning 122 Intel patents, the latter is suing companies like Samsung Electronics.

Covering complaints and lawsuits, the number of patent disputes filed in the US last year was 208, about 70% or 145 of which were related to electrical and electronics and information and communications technology.  Next on the list were chemical and bio, mechanical materials and equipment.

Write to Hae-Sung Lee at ihs@hankyung.com