MPLUS Wins Final Supreme Court Patent Infringement Case; Sungwon Enetech Ordered to Pay 11 Billion Won in Damages

MPLUS, a company specializing in equipment for secondary battery assembly, announced on the 20th that it has received a final Supreme Court ruling in its favor in a patent infringement prohibition and compensation lawsuit filed against Sungwon Enetech (formerly Yuil Enetech).

According to the company, on July 16, the First Civil Division of the Supreme Court dismissed both the plaintiff's and defendant's appeals in the case (2026Da202753). As a result, the appellate court ruling (2023Na11436) delivered by the Patent Court on February 12 remains upheld. Sungwon Enetech must pay damage compensation of 11 billion won to MPLUS.

This lawsuit centered on MPLUS's patent number 1329073, for a "stacking device for electrode plates in secondary batteries." This patent covers technology for the electrode plate stacking device, a key technology in the secondary battery assembly process.

Previously, the Patent Court accepted MPLUS's claim, finding that the products used by Sungwon Enetech were included within the scope of claims 1 and 5 of the patent. The Supreme Court also unanimously dismissed both parties' appeals, thereby confirming the appellate court's ruling as is.

In its written judgment, the Supreme Court stated that Sungwon Enetech's arguments denying the patent's inventiveness and seeking to withdraw admissions made during the trial were groundless. The court also indicated there was no legal misinterpretation or insufficient deliberation in the prior judgment that could have affected the outcome.

Regarding the scale of damages, the Supreme Court ruled that the significant damages amount, recognized under Article 128, Paragraph 7 of the former Patent Act, was legally justified. As a result, MPLUS has now definitively secured a 11 billion won damage compensation claim against Sungwon Enetech.

MPLUS explained that, as Sungwon Enetech is currently undergoing corporate rehabilitation procedures, it is now obligated to reflect the 11 billion won claim in the rehabilitation plan. The company added that it will continue to pursue legal measures to secure its claim throughout the rehabilitation process going forward.

A company representative stated, "The Supreme Court ruling represents a meaningful outcome that officially recognizes our core technology and intellectual property rights, which we have secured over long periods of research and development, at the highest judicial level. Going forward, we will continue to pursue technological innovation to enhance our competitiveness in the global secondary battery equipment market and proactively protect our intellectual property rights."

Currently, MPLUS holds approximately 140 patents and continues to pursue new intellectual property rights through ongoing research and development. The company is also expanding its business portfolio into new business areas, including all-solid-state battery equipment and AIMR (Autonomous Industrial Mobile Robots), leveraging its technological capabilities in secondary battery assembly equipment.

This Supreme Court ruling is significant in that MPLUS’s core secondary battery equipment patent has been legally and finally recognized, and a damage compensation claim amounting to 11 billion won has been confirmed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.