The nation’s top court has dismissed an appeal by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering to keep its patent over a technology that reliquefies evaporated liquefied natural gas, industry sources said Wednesday.
The ruling puts an end to a three-year trial that looked into a request made by DSME’s rivals, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries, to nullify the former’s patent right. The two companies claimed that DSME falsely promoted that the company holds a patent for the technology known as partial reliquefaction system, and that DSME’s patent right should be nullified as the technology is far from being exclusive as it has been widely used.
(Yonhap)
A local patent court in January ruled against DSME that its patent on boil-off gas liquefaction technology, which it claims to be exclusive, is not different from existing technology. DSME appealed the case a month later at the Supreme Court.
The boil-off gas liquefaction technology is crucial to LNG makers. It is needed to liquefy evaporated LNG gas into liquid form while being carried by ships.
DSME secured 47 LNG carriers from 2014 to 2016. Hyundai and Samsung had only 12 and eight, respectively, according to industry officials.
By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)