▲Eugene Tech

"Finding out about patent infringement lawsuits through the media"
We plan to respond actively as soon as we receive the report.

As Japanese semiconductor equipment manufacturer Kokusai Electric filed a patent infringement lawsuit against domestic semiconductor equipment manufacturer Eugene Tech through its Korean subsidiary International Electric Korea, Eugene Tech has indicated that it will actively respond.

Eugene Tech issued an "Explanation of Rumors and Reports" through an electronic disclosure, stating, "We have confirmed through media reports, etc. that we have been sued for patent infringement," and explained, "We have not yet received the complaint from the court, so we are unable to determine the basis for the lawsuit."

He continued, "We plan to appoint an agent and respond proactively as soon as we receive the notice," adding, "We plan to announce any changes in the future in accordance with the public disclosure regulations."

As semiconductor equipment manufacturers from two countries targeting the same customers are locked in a patent infringement lawsuit, attention is focused on the background and content of the lawsuit.

The public is concerned that Eugene Tech's batch type deposition equipment sales share was less than 5% as of the last quarter, as Kokusai Electric presented batch type deposition equipment as a representative infringing product.Some pointed out that the 15% drop in stock price was excessive. Eugene Tech's stock price, which plummeted the previous day, closed at 34,450 won on the 6th, up 5.67%.

On the other hand, the initial confusion that began when news of the lawsuit was announced continues with various speculations such as, "We cannot rule out the possibility that they are targeting a new product lineup," and "They are trying to negotiate technology royalties for an already released product lineup."

Eugene Tech was previously known to have received support from the Korean Intellectual Property Office's "Patent-Based Research and Development" project and conducted patent evasion designs in the early stages of R&D through analysis of competitors' technologies in the U.S. and elsewhere. Therefore, attention is focused on whether this patent infringement lawsuit will be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the patent evasion design or whether it will be a lawsuit against an unrelated product.