Toss won both of the two patent invalidation trials it filed against Korea Information & Communication(025770) (KICC). As a result, Toss gained the upper hand in the main patent infringement lawsuit against KICC. KICC has filed a patent correction trial petition with the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board, specifying the contents of the invalidated patents.
On the 12th, according to ChosunBiz's reporting, the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board accepted Toss's arguments late last month in the "patent invalidation trial for an anti-static structure" that Toss filed against KICC. The board determined that the patent rights for anti-static technology in payment terminals held by KICC do not stand.
Earlier, the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board had also ruled in favor of Toss in the "patent invalidation trial for credit card information encryption" that Toss filed against KICC.
The legal battle between Toss and KICC began in Oct. last year when KICC filed for a preliminary injunction with the Seoul Central District Court, saying, "Please halt the production and sale of Toss's payment devices" on allegations of patent infringement. Toss responded by filing patent invalidation trials against KICC's credit card information encryption patent for payment devices and its anti-static structure patent. Toss argued that the patents cover technology already widely used in the industry or correspond to technical standards disclosed before the filing.
After Toss won both patent invalidation trials, KICC moved to respond. A KICC official said, "We have already filed a correction trial with the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board for the encryption patent that was first invalidated. For the anti-static patent, we plan to file a correction trial within this month." A patent correction trial is a legal procedure in which a patent holder petitions the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board to amend a patent—for example, by narrowing or clarifying the scope of rights—to respond to invalidation attempts.
Additionally, KICC filed an appeal suit with the Intellectual Property High Court, the higher body in the trial process, challenging the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board's decision that invalidated the credit card information encryption patent for payment devices. As a result, the outcome of the preliminary injunction—an earlier stage than the main suit that will determine whether Toss infringed KICC's patents—is expected to be further delayed.