Pharmaceutical automatic dispensing equipment company JVM(054950) (JVM) won a patent dispute that lasted six years. JVM is an affiliate of the Hanmi Group, in which Hanmi Science(008930) holds 39.19% equity.
JVM said on the 20th that it won a lawsuit seeking an injunction against patent infringement and damages related to an automatic pharmaceutical packaging device filed against domestic corporations C.
According to the company, on the 16th of last month, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that C infringed JVM's patent rights and also recognized liability for damages for the infringement.
Earlier, JVM filed a lawsuit in 2020 seeking an injunction against patent infringement and damages, saying C infringed its patent related to an automatic pharmaceutical packaging device. A legal battle over whether there was patent infringement and the validity of the patent continued for about six years.
In the course of the lawsuit, C argued noninfringement while also filing an invalidation trial against the patent. However, after rulings by the Intellectual Property High Court and the Supreme Court, the validity of JVM's patent was ultimately confirmed. Through this ruling, the fact of patent infringement and the resulting liability for damages were also recognized.
Automatic dispensing equipment automates dispensing tasks at pharmacies and hospitals, such as counting, sorting and packaging pharmaceuticals, and is a field where patented technologies applied to core processes determine product competitiveness.
JVM has expanded its domestic and overseas markets based on technology accumulated in the automatic pharmaceutical dispensing and packaging field. It currently supplies automatic dispensing solutions to hospitals and pharmacies worldwide, and while Hanmi Pharmaceutical(128940) handles overseas business, it is also accelerating development of next-generation products and new solutions.
The company expected that, with this ruling, the value of the patent portfolio held by JVM would also come to the fore.
JVM CEO Kim Sang-wook said, "Beyond creating new technologies, it is also an important role of corporations to protect their value as legitimate rights and to foster an industrial environment that respects them," adding, "We will continue to invest in future growth drivers and further solidify our competitiveness in the global market based on proprietary technology and intellectual property."