LG Electronics Charges Whirlpool With Patent Infringement on Refrigerator Technology

Whirlpool Corporation is infringing on three appliance patents owned by LG Electronics, Inc., according to a lawsuit filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. This is the second time in a week that LG Electronics has moved to protect its interests in court.

Today's suit charges Whirlpool with "willful and deliberate infringement," demands a jury trial and seeks trebled damages. The patents cover LG Electronics refrigerator inventions for water dispensing, food storage and obturator technologies. Eleven models of refrigerator-freezers sold under the Whirlpool, Maytag, Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air brands are named in the lawsuit.

On April 16, LG asked the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to declare certain Whirlpool and Maytag patents "invalid and/or unenforceable" and to declare that LG products have not and are not infringing on any of these patents. In that case, contesting allegations Whirlpool presented in an International Trade Commission action, LG states that Whirlpool "pursued allegations of patent infringement against LG in bad faith and for ulterior purposes not proper under the law."

LG Electronics, Inc. (KSE: 066570.KS) is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, home appliances and mobile communications, employing more than 82,000 people working in 114 operations including 82 subsidiaries around the world. With 2007 global sales of $44 billion, LG comprises four business units -- Digital Appliance, Mobile Communications, Digital Display and Digital Media. LG is the world's leading producer of air conditioners, front-load washing machines, optical storage products, mobile handsets, flat panel TVs, DVD players and home theater systems.

LG Electronics USA, Inc., based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics, Inc. In the United States, LG Electronics sells a wide range of digital appliances, consumer electronics products and mobile phones under LG's "Life's Good" marketing theme.

SOURCE LG Electronics USA, Inc.