GERMAN COURT FINDS IN FAVOR OF LG IN TV PATENT INFRINGEMENT CASE

LG Electronics prevailed in a decision by the Regional Court of Mannheim Landgericht Mannheim) that found no patent infringement in a case initiated by United Video Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Rovi Corporationbased in Santa Clara, California (USA).

On December 18, 2012,the Regional Courtruled in favor of LG in the first instance (Docket No. 2 O 104/12) that the TVs named in the complaint do not infringe European PatentNumber0 775 417as alleged by United Video Properties. The TV sets were manufactured by LG Electronics,Inc. based in Seoul, Korea, and distributed in Germany by itslocal subsidiary LG Electronics Deutschland GmbH.

Even though the judgment is a first instance andcan still be appealed by the plaintiff, the outcome was a significant win for LG. In theruling, the Court give clearreasons why the understanding of the patent by the plaintiff was too broad.

“We were successful in convincing the Mannheim Court not to follow in the footsteps of another German court that ruled against a major European TV manufacturer in a very similar case,” said Joo-sup KimofLG’s Intellectual Property Center. “A finding against LG would have sent the wrong message that innovation benefitting consumers is not welcome in Germany.”

European Patent 0 775 417 deals with an improved electronic television program schedule guide system that is described as being more user-friendly and more efficient than competingsystems. The patent has beencontroversial for being too broad andLG and other companies have raised nullity actions before the German Federal Patent Court.However, the validity of the patent did not play a role in the Mannheim case.