[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] SK Nexilis announced on September 14 that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has decided to formally hear its trade secret misappropriation claims against Solus Advanced Materials in the ongoing patent infringement lawsuit.
The decision follows SK Nexilis’s filing in August of an amended complaint that added allegations of violations under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (TUTSA). The filing claims that Solus Advanced Materials unlawfully acquired and used confidential information relating to copper foil manufacturing processes, including additive recipes, electrolyte operation conditions, and drum management methods.
The court has allowed the amended complaint, agreeing to address both patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation within the same case. However, given the advanced stage of the patent proceedings, the court will handle the two matters separately for procedural efficiency. SK Nexilis noted that this decision is meaningful, as it allows for a faster judgment on patent infringement while enabling an in-depth review of the trade secret allegations.
Regarding the court’s acceptance of evidence recently submitted by Solus Advanced Materials in its effort to invalidate SK Nexilis’s patent, the company stressed that this was a purely procedural determination and does not recognize the credibility of the evidence or the possibility of invalidation.
SK Nexilis further argued that the products presented by Solus as grounds for invalidation lack verifiable origin and storage conditions, and that the results are based on unilateral claims with little persuasive power. The company emphasized that the court’s rejection of Solus’s motion to dismiss SK Nexilis’s infringement claims ensures that both patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation will be formally reviewed in court.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
