Notice Regarding a Final Court Judgement on the Patent Infringement Lawsuit Related to Polyimide Film Products against South Korean Corporation and its U.S. Affiliate

Kaneka Corporation (Osaka, Japan; President: Mr. Mamoru Kadokura) announced today that a final judgment was entered on May 24, 2017 (US Pacific Standard Time) by United States District Court, Central District of California to which Kaneka brought a patent infringement law suit against SKC Kolon PI, Inc. (hereafter, SKPI) in South Korea and SKC, Inc. in the United States (hereafter, U.S. SKC) which was selling SKPI’s polyimide film products in the United States, based on Kaneka’s U.S. Patents: Nos. 5,075,064 and 7,691,961 regarding polyimide film. Consistent with the Jury’s November 19, 2015 Verdict and after reviewing the written submissions, the court recognized defendants’ infringement on Kaneka’s valid patents and ruled that Kaneka shall be awarded about $ 13.5 million in total for its lost profits resulting from SKPI’s infringement of Kaneka’s patents.

Kaneka prevailed in the trial as the jury found that SKPI induced infringement and U.S. SKC’s directly infringed our asserted patents. Likewise, Kaneka’s patents were judged to be valid. We believe that the full and complete ruling in Kaneka’s favor on our assertion would have a major impact on the global expansion of our Apical® polyimide film business. Henceforth, Kaneka will request the court for an entry of permanent injunction against any of SKPI’s infringing products. Kaneka shall further strengthen our intellectual property strategies through strong promotion of R&D both domestically and internationally.

Additionally, before the above-referenced judgment was issued, SKPI filed a new lawsuit in the same court claiming that it changed its manufacturing process after the verdict was issued, resulting in two new types of polyimide film which SKPI alleges do not infringe the ‘961 patent. However, Kaneka has had SKPI’s purported new films tested by a third-party, and such testing demonstrates that these films still infringe. Kaneka has therefore filed counterclaims against SKPI alleging infringement of the ‘961 patent. Additionally, Kaneka asserts that the new films infringe Kaneka’s US patents, 6,264,866 and 9,441,082 in the field of polyimide film.

Kaneka shall further strengthen our intellectual property strategies through strong promotion of R&D both domestically and internationally.