In 2020 LG InnoTek officially exited the LED market. However, the company still has substantial intellectual resources in its enormous trove of LED patents and physical infrastructure, which it intends to sell-off. Chinese start-up Suzhou Lekin Semiconductor, established in March 2021, is reportedly the unlikely buyer of LG’s LED patents and it seems to be on a spree of patent acquisition from LG InnoTek both in the US and elsewhere.
According to TheElec, the total number of patents acquired by Suzhou Lekin in relation to LED technology is reported to be close to 10,000 and could indicate the developmental direction of the Chinese company. According to filings from the United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO), up to 1,968 patents relating to LED technology have been transferred from LG InnoTek to Suzhou Lekin.
Lekin may trade on the acquired patents within China and beyond. This could yield significant returns on their investment in LED-related patents. The company could also deploy the needed technology to bring some of these patents to life by creating products that could use some of these innovations.
LG InnoTek is expected to share some of the dividends from the huge sale of its intellectual property with its employees responsible for the patents. The patent regime is well regulated in South Korea, and companies are mandated to share some of the gains from the sale of the patents with the staff responsible for such innovations.
Both companies have not made any official statements at this time concerning the patent deal. The financial details of the sale of patents are also not available. Apart from the patents, LG Innotek still has LED production facilities in South Korea and China, which it intends to sell.
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