Sumitomo Metal Mining: Settlement in Patent Infringement Lawsuit Concerning Infrared-Shielding Body

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:5713)(SMM), has reached a settlement with the Korean company Nexfil in the lawsuit SMM brought about at the Seoul Central District Court on March 5, 2018 on the grounds that some of Nexfil’s products infringe patent rights relating to Infrared-shielding body¹ which belong to SMM.

The content of this settlement was agreed upon as respecting and protecting SMM’s patent rights, and as such SMM is satisfied with the content.

SMM considers intellectual property to be an important asset that supports the Sumitomo Group, and as well as striving to create intellectual property, SMM takes its own intellectual property and that of other companies very seriously in its business activities. As such, with regards to infringements of intellectual property rights, SMM takes legal and any other necessary measures to protect these rights appropriately.

Through such activities, SMM shall continue to strive to ensure that our customers can use our products with peace of mind.

Note: Infrared-shielding body
SMM manufactures and sells near-infrared shielding microparticle dispersion powder (CWO^?) and dispersion liquid that are used in the manufacturing of Infrared-shielding body.

CWO^? is a cesium tungsten oxide material that SMM led the way in the development and commercialization of, and is has high visible light transparency and strong infrared absorption. As well as having a high near-infrared shielding effect, it is gaining attention as a transparent and highly photothermally efficient material, and it is currently has a wide range of trial applications and practical implementations.

SMM believes that CWO^? is a promising product that can contribute to society as a material to resolve energy and environmental problems that have come to the fore over recent years accompanying global warming.

CWO^? is a registered trademark of SMM.

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